Madison, WI

I've been searching out a number of brewpubs lately during my travels as there seems to have been an explosion of them in the Midwest over the past few years. And a lot of them usually have pretty good food to go along with their beers to help draw people back time and time again. A place that I had been wanting to try and finally got the chance to do so was Gray's Tied House in the Madison suburb of Verona.

Back in the 18th and 19th centuries in merry old England, you'd find two different types of public houses - known as "pubs" - in which one could imbibe. A "tied house" pub was tied to a specific brewery where only their beer was served. A "free house" pub served beers from a number of different breweries. In the 19th and early 20th centuries before Prohibition in America, the tied house concept was adopted by some breweries. You'd find tied houses in places such as Milwaukee and St. Louis where large breweries were located. But sometimes you'd find them in cities and towns near where smaller breweries were located.

The Gray Brewing Company got its start in 1856 in Janesville, WI when Irish immigrant Joshua Gray started brewing his handcrafted Irish-style beers. During Prohibition, Gray Brewing made soda pop and root beer. Even with the end of Prohibition, the temperance movement was still strong in Janesville and Charles Gray - the fourth generation of Gray's to run the facility - and his wife, Margaret, continued to make soda pop instead of going back to beer production.

When Charles Gray passed away in 1944, he left his wife with two young sons, Bob and Charlie. Margaret Gray continued to run the soda pop company - renamed Gray Beverage Company - while raising the two young boys who eventually took over the company. Bob became the sole proprietor of Gray's in 1986 and continued to run Gray Beverage making their own soft drinks and bottling soft drinks from larger national soft drink companies.

A non-solved arson fire burned down the beverage facility in 1992 and Bob Gray thought that might be the death knell for Gray Beverage Company. However, his son Fred prodded his father into re-establishing the Gray Brewing Company making beer along with the soft drinks Gray's had become famous for. Fred eventually took over the family's operation (Bob Gray passed away in 2015 at the age of 78) and today you can find Gray Brewing Company beers in a number of states in the Midwest. (But, of course, not in Iowa who recently warned citizens that bringing beer, wine or liquor across state lines is illegal.) And Gray's soft drinks, including their very good root beer, are still being produced in Janesville and distributed around the Midwest, as well.

Pictured at right - Fred Gray.

In 2006, Fred Gray opened the Gray's Tied House in Verona to mark Gray Brewing Company's 150th birthday. Initially, the brewpub sold only Gray's products, but in recent years they opened their taps up to outside craft beers brewed around the Midwest. Gray's Tied House is located in Verona just off U.S. Highways 151 and 18. (see map)

Gray's Tied House was built to look like a ski chalet with a brick facade and stone pillars with a tall glassed entrance. The entry opens into a large room that houses an expansive dining area and a bar off to the sides. Fermenting tanks near the bar area were in a glass enclosed room.

The inside of Gray's Tied House was very nice and comfortable. A number of sturdy tables were interspersed throughout the dining area. It was well lit with a number of canned ceiling lights and the large windows allowed a lot of natural light to come into the area. There was also a large aquarium that was one of the more pronounced feature of the dining area.

Gray's Tied House also had two outside patio areas - one that was covered and another one that was on the sunny side of the building. It was a beautiful day outside, but rather windy so not many people were seated outside.

I ended up taking a seat at the bar, a large drinking area that was sort of a pentagon in shape, but had three sides. (Look at the picture and you'll see what I'm talking about.) I was greeted by the bartender, Jason, who gave me a food menu and a beer menu to look over. The first beer I ordered was a seasonal Gray's lager they had listed. Jason came back and said that they were out of the lager. I then ordered a Gray's Shenanigan's India Pale Ale. Moment's later, he came back and said they were out of that. Exasperated by that point, I ended up ordering an IPA from the Tallgrass Brewing Company, one of the "guest" beers they had on tap that day.

The food menu was pretty extensive with a number of pub-inspired appetizers, soups, salads, and sandwiches. They also had burgers, wraps, and brick oven pizzas on the menu, along with a number of entrees including pasta dishes, seafood and steaks. They have a traditional Wisconsin fish fry on Friday nights and Prime rib is served on Saturday nights.

I know I didn't want a burger, but the fish tacos caught my eye for a moment. Realizing that they were fried fish tacos, I looked elsewhere at the sandwich part of the menu. About the only thing that appealed to me was the reuben sandwich. The sandwich came with fries, but for $3.50 I could upgrade to hand-battered onion straws. That's the route I took.

And I patiently waited for my sandwich to show up. One Tallgrass IPA turned into two. After a couple sips of the second beer, I realized that I had been sitting there for over 20 minutes after I'd ordered my sandwich. I asked Jason if he could check on my order. He ran back to the kitchen and came back out to tell me that the automated printer that was supposed to be printing out food orders from the bar wasn't working. He told me that he'd give me a beer on the house and my food would be out shortly.

Five minutes later, someone came out with my reuben sandwich and the onion straws. I knew someone had to have screwed up in the kitchen as the onion straws were cold like they had been sitting there for a long time. The sandwich featured house-made corned beef slathered in Thousand Island dressing and sauerkraut on a marble rye bread. The sandwich was good enough - not great - as the corned beef was sort of bland in taste. (That's probably why they loaded the dressing and sauerkraut on the sandwich.) But the cold onion straws were definitely disappointing. Jason asked me how the sandwich was and I told him that it was fine, but the onion straws were cold. He asked me if I wanted a fresh basket of onion straws and I declined. The sandwich turned out to be more than enough food for me. He ended up taking the $3.50 upcharge for the onion straws off the bill. And I got a free beer out of the deal, too.

I have mixed feelings about my visit to Gray's Tied House. They didn't have two of the beers listed on their beer menu. They screwed up getting my order in to the kitchen. The onion straws were cold. And the reuben was just all right in my opinion. I'd had better at other places in the past as I thought the corned beef was sort of bland in taste. But Jason made things right by giving me a beer on the house and taking the onion straws off the bill. Overall, I felt Gray's Tied House was sort of average at best, but it was a very nice facility for a brewpub.

Traveling up to the Madison area earlier this year, I was sort of getting burnt out on burgers, Mexican food, and brewpubs that I'd been visiting a lot during the summer. Staying on the city's west side, I found an Indian restaurant that wasn't far from the hotel. I thought it was interesting enough to share my experience of dining at Dhaba Indian Bistro.

The Singh family - father Sital and his son, Sumanjit (a.k.a. "Sonu") are well known in restaurant circles around Madison and beyond as they are also involved with the Taste of India restaurant in Madison, as well as restaurants in Brookfield, WI, Green Bay, WI, and Rockford, IL. With the Madison suburb of Middleton continuing to grow, a number of restaurants have opened up in that city over the past few years. The Singh's saw that there was no Indian restaurant in the line-up of new restaurants coming into Middleton and they decided to look for a place to put one in. They found a space in a multi-purpose retail/restaurant building along Greenway Boulevard in Middleton that used to house an Asian fusion restaurant and opened Dhaba Indian Bistro in September of 2012.

Actually, you have to turn on to Deming Way from Greenway Boulevard and then take a quick left into the parking lot to get to Dhaba Indian Bistro. (see map) The restaurant occupies the far west end of the building. The place was relatively full when I walked in - a good sign in my book. I was escorted to a table toward the back of the restaurant by the host that evening who turned out to be Sonu Singh.

After ordering a Kingfisher beer, I was looking through the menu to check to see what they offered at Dhaba Indian Bistro. It was an extensive menu with a number of lamb, chicken and seafood dishes. They also had some biryani items on the menu, and - quite interestingly - they had beef Indian dishes. You don't see that in a lot of Indian restaurants, but I was told that it is Muslim Indian restaurants that offer beef dishes.

Of course, I had to order some garlic naan bread. When the waiter brought it out to the table, I could smell the garlic before he even set it down on the table. The leavened white bread was pliable and pulled apart easily. But the garlic taste in the bread was simply wonderful. I definitely wanted to keep some around to dip in the curry sauce I ordered.

Along with my dinner that evening, I got a cup of the lentil vegetable soup. It was actually pretty good. It sort of looked like chicken noodle soup, but tasted more like bean and bacon soup. I wasn't really certain I needed the soup, but I was glad I got it.

For my dinner that night, I got the lamb curry. My server asked me how spicy I wanted it on a scale of "1 to 5" with one being the most mild. I thought about it for a moment and told him 3.5. Well, I have to say their idea of 3.5 on their spicy scale would have been more of a 4.5 on my scale. The curry had a vicious bite, but - to me - it didn't seem to have a lot of flavor. I wondered if the spiciness masked the overall flavor of the curry sauce.

The lamb turned out to be somewhat disappointing. Many of the pieces of lamb I was served were very fatty. More than once I pulled pieces of the meat out of my mouth as it was just too fatty. Along with the somewhat too spicy curry sauce that didn't have a lot of flavor, the lamb curry was disappointing.

I'm still not what I would deem an expert when it comes to Indian food. But I know what I like and I have to say that I was disappointed in my lamb curry at Dhaba Indian Bistro. The lamb had too much fat on it and the curry sauce was sort of bland. The spiciness of the sauce could be the reason it was wasn't as flavorful as many other Indian restaurants I've been to. But the garlic naan was excellent, the service was prompt and professional, and the decor was tasteful and contemporary. I just wish my meal would have been better than what it turned out to be.

On a visit to Madison a couple of years ago, I was talking with one of my accounts about Mexican restaurants in the area. He was telling me of a place on the west side of Madison in a small strip mall by the name of La Mestiza that he thought was very good. I finally made it to La Mestiza during a recent visit up to Madison.

Mexican native Antonio Estrada moved to Chicago in 2000 from his home town of Aguascalientes with the hope to learn English while working in restaurants there. He got into information technology, but still wanted to run his own restaurant. He ended up moving to Madison in 2006 and got together with Armando Cristobal, a restaurant veteran (and formerly a chef at Frontera Grill in Chicago) and then a regional manager for Qdoba locations in and around Madison. The two opened up La Mestiza in 2007 in the Market Square shopping complex on Madison's west side. (see map)

The name La Mestiza comes from the term Mestizo which means a person or culture that is a mix of European (Spanish or Portuguese) and North American indigenous people. Estrada and Cristobal came from different parts of Mexico, and along with friends and family they came up with the diverse recipes for the foods served at the restaurant. All of the food they made was housemade and fresh, using only ingredients that were true to the homemade foods they had years before in Mexico.

Armando Cristobal left La Mestiza in 2010 to open up two other Mexican restaurants in the Madison area - Limon and Cilantro. Limon closed in 2011 and Cilantro closed in 2012. Antonio Estrada briefly had a La Mestiza location in downtown Madison, but the original one on Odana Road is the only one open at this time.

I pulled into the parking lot in front of La Mestiza. The lot was packed with cars and I found a single spot open a far bit away from the restaurant. I thought to myself, "Wow! This place must be popular! This lot is packed!" It turns out that the parking lot also is for a movie theater complex behind the building that houses La Mestiza. There were - maybe - 8 people in the place when I walked in.

A server greeted me and said that I could sit anywhere. I took a booth toward the front by the window. La Mestiza was not a large place - it had 9 or 10 booths with a couple of six-seat tables in the middle. Light fixtures with Edison light bulbs hung above each booth. She handed me a menu and not long afterward a young lady with a thick Spanish accent came over to greet me. I ordered a Margarita de Lujo - fresh squeezed lime juice and silver tequila.

After I got some fresh - and I mean fresh - tortilla chips along with a somewhat spicy red salsa and a creamy green tomatillo sauce, my young server came over with a shaker and a martini glass. She expertly shook the ingredients of my margarita and poured it into the glass. The margarita was excellent, as was the chips and the salsa - especially the green salsa.

To say the menu at La Mestiza is interesting is quite the understatement. They had four different types of chicken enchiladas, achiote marinated pork, chile rellenos stuffed with cheese, and Borrego en Chile Pasilla - lamb shoulder simmered with dark pasilla chile peppers.

I was in quite the quandary as what to get. My server had earlier told me what the special was that evening and I didn't know what it was. When I asked again what the special was again and she told me. "What's that," I asked quizzically.

In her heavy accent, she said, "Pork."

Then it hit me - she was telling me the special was carnitas. Only her accent didn't make it sound like it was carnitas. I felt stupid and told her that I'd have the carnitas dinner.

She brought it out and it looked simply delicious. There was a large portion of the slow-cooked shredded pork on the plate along with a scoop full of rice, some refried beans, fresh chopped cilantro and a dollop of guacamole. The only thing that she didn't bring were some tortilla shells - fresh made in the kitchen, I might add. I guess I could have asked for some, but there was so much pork on the plate that I still would have had pork left over even if I'd filled three tortillas.

Well, not only did it look delicious, it WAS delicious. The carnitas were moist, flavorful, tender, mouthwatering - everything that great carnitas are supposed to taste like. I concentrated on the carnitas primarily, but mixed some of the pork up with the rice, cilantro and guacamole. There was a lot of food on the plate and I couldn't finish it all.

The person who told me about La Mestiza was spot on with his assessment of the food served there. Everything - from the specialty margarita to the chips and excellent salsa to the carnitas with the rice, guacamole and cilantro - was fresh and full of flavor. Sometimes the best Mexican places are the little hole-in-the-wall joints that serve interesting foods. La Mestiza is just that kind of place. There's nothing "American-ized" about the Mexican food they serve there.

Madison, WI is known for the number of great burger places that proliferate the area. It's tough to NOT find a good burger in Madison (although there is one place that proved you can get a bad burger in the city). One place that has popped up on my burger radar over the past year or so is a place with a whimsical name just across from the Wisconsin State Capitol - the Tipsy Cow. On a trip to Madison late this past summer, I stopped in for a burger at the Tipsy Cow.

The odd shaped building at the corner of King and Main St. (see map) has housed a number of restaurants over the years. None of them have really made it. It was in the spring of 2010 when three partners - Patrick O'Halloran, Michael Banas and Sue Kirton - got together to buy the Local, a tavern that was in the building at King and Main. O'Halloran had extensive restaurant experience - he was an original partner in the popular Old Fashioned bar and grille just up the street from what is now the Tipsy Cow.

O'Halloran and his wife, Marcia, bought Lombardino's Italian restaurant in Madison in 2000. A divorce left Marcia with the Old Fashioned, and Patrick with Lombardino's. Banas - a longtime employee at Lombardino's - bought into the restaurant and became partners with Patrick O'Halloran. Kirton - the former owner of the Opus Lounge, a popular downtown watering hole, and a partner in the Local - got together with Banas and O'Halloran to buy that business from her partners in 2010. (Got that straight? We're gonna have a test on that in the morning.)

O'Halloran traveled to Mexico to learn the art of Mexican cuisine in Oaxaca with a focus on mole sauces. They hired Bob Kulow - who had been at Lombardino's - as their head chef and opened their new spot, King and Mane, in 2011.

King and Mane sort of floundered for a year, not really finding a footing in the downtown restaurant scene. But O'Halloran listened to his clientele. They were looking for burgers, appetizers, and craft beers while King and Mane was more of a Mexican "gastro-cantina" with street tacos and torts, but they also had steaks, pork chops and fresh fish. The restaurant felt rudderless in its culinary direction.

Figuring that a corner neighborhood bar with locally sourced food along with regional craft beers would be the answer to a successful business, the trio of owners - along with chef Kulow - turned King and Mane into just that. With beef from Knoche's - a locally famous butcher shop in Madison - sausages and brats from Usinger's in Milwaukee, bacon from the famous Nueske's Smoked Meats in Wittenburg, WI, and local produce when in season, the group decided upon a rural theme for their restaurant. After a number of brainstorming sessions, they came up with the name Tipsy Cow. The restaurant opened in May of 2011.

I found a parking spot along King Street and walked around the corner to Main to the entrance of the Tipsy Cow. It was a nice evening and a number of people were seated on the sidewalk patio to the Main Street side of the restaurant. I went into the restaurant and was greeted by a hostess. She escorted me to a table across from the bar. They have a larger dining area on the other side of the wall from the bar, but I was fine with the table I had in the bar. I was given a menu and I ordered an Alaskan Amber that they had in a bottle.

For supposedly being a burger joint, there was a surprising lack of burgers on the menu at the Tipsy Cow. They had a cheeseburger - or I should say, four different variations of the cheeseburger as in a 1/4 pound single, a 1/2 pound double, a 3/4 pound triple, and a whopping one pound quadruple cheeseburger. Each of the patties are topped with 3-year-old Wisconsin cheddar cheese and your choice of fried or raw onions. They also had a namesake Tipsy burger that was basically the same thing as a 1/2 pound double cheeseburger along with Widmer's brick cheese, and Nueske's bacon. The Tipsy Cow also has a ground lamb burger with the meat sourced from Pinn-Oak Ridge Farms, as well as chicken and turkey sandwiches.

The Tipsy Cow also has a large number of appetizers including fried cheese curds (hey, that's what their clientele wants!), chicken wings and chicken tenders, as well as loaded fries with a choice of blue cheese and Buffalo sauce, or with locally sourced sour cream and green onions, or Nueske's bacon crumbs and blue cheese, or the BBQ Ranch fries with a housemade barbecue sauce with ranch dressing. They also have alligator bites - farm-raised alligator (probably not in Wisconsin) that is cut up, battered and deep fried, and served with a spicy Cajun sauce. I really wanted to try those.

But I went with the Tipsy burger. My server, Katy, asked me if I wanted a small order of beer-battered fries for $2 more, but I declined. And I was glad I did. This was a big burger. Not only does it have the brick cheese melted on top, it also had the 3-year-old Wisconsin cheddar cheese on it. The thick slices of the Nueske's bacon were criss-crossed under the burger patties.

I ordered it with raw onions but it came out with fried onions. Not a big deal, but fried onions give me an upset stomach from time to time. Thankfully this time they did not. But there was so much going on in terms of taste with this burger that I hardly noticed the fried onions. The bun - which was soft and spongy - was lightly toasted and held up very well with the juiciness of the burger patties along with the cheese, bacon, and a homemade sauce - Tipsy sauce, that was sort of a spicy Thousand Island dressing - all of which were swimming in between the buns. This was a very good burger, indeed.

I had finished my burger and my hands were greasy - I went through the napkins they provided with the burger as it was pretty messy - and I needed to use the restroom. When I returned to the table, my half-drank beer and my finished burger basket were gone along with my used napkins. Suddenly I heard someone say, "There he is!" And Katy came back with my half-full bottle of beer and my bill. She had thought I had skipped out on the dinner check. Nope, just went to the bathroom. I was sort of incredulous that I was gone less than two minutes and she freaked out as she thought I skipped out on the bill. Maybe that happens at the Tipsy Cow more than they'd like. I was mildly offended, to say the least. I didn't even finish the rest of my beer.

Other than being slightly offended that my server thought that I had skated on the bill, I can't say anything bad about the Tipsy burger - it was top-notch with a lot of great flavors going on. It was definitely a multi-napkin burger with the juicy burger patties, both of the melted cheeses, the Nueske's bacon and the Tipsy sauce oozing all over the place. The atmosphere was fun and funky, the beer selection was interesting and widely varied, and even the service was good - up until she thought I'd skipped on the check when all I did was just go to the restroom for two minutes. Other than that, the Tipsy Cow was a great experience and holds up well against the other great burger places found in the Madison area.

10 years ago today I had an entry on Dotty Dumpling's Dowry on my fledgling blog. (Click here if you want to see that entry, as badly written that it was.) This was well before I had a voice or a clear concept of what I wanted my blog to be. Plus it was only the second entry on a restaurant that I had published. (The long closed Town Pump in Clear Lake, IA was the first. Click here to see that entry.) I first found Dotty Dumpling's Dowry in the mid-90's through a good friend who took me there when we were in Madison for the Great Taste of the Midwest Beer Festival. It became one of my all-time favorite places to get a burger. As the 10 year anniversary of my first attempt to capture the essence of what Dotty's is all about is upon us, I thought it would be fitting to go back to Dotty's and do something a little more in-depth.

The story of Dotty Dumpling's Dowry starts out in Des Moines, IA where Jeff Stanley opened up a funky little gift shop in 1969. He named his place after Dotty Dumpling, a character in a Sir Arthur Conan O'Doyle short story who was the fat lady in a traveling circus. He added the "Dowry" because he liked the flow of the name in conjunction with his gift shop. After selling eclectic jewelry and clothing for about five years, Stanley decided that he needed a change of scenery - both in terms of towns and business.

Stanley moved to the progressive city of Madison in 1974 and opened his first hamburger stand that was housed in a former shoeshine stand, keeping the Dotty Dumplin's Dowry name but selling no jewelry. Stanley referred to his first stand on Monroe Street as a "burger hut" because it was so small, seating only 10 people at a counter. It also confused some people as they thought Dotty's sold dumplings - a problem that continues 41 years later for Dotty-neophytes.

Two years later, Stanley found a larger location for his burger place on Regent Street just across the street from Camp Randall Stadium. It was at this location that business really began to take off. USA Today named Dotty's one of the Top 20 burgers in the nation. But it was also here that Stanley had his first battle with big business and the local government.

Associated Bank owned the land on which Dotty's was located and wanted to tear the place down and put in a retail space. Stanley had a number of years left on the lease and the bank offered him no compensation to move to a new location. It got to the point where the developers began to tear buildings down around Dotty's and soon the only way to get to the burger joint was via a small bridge. Ironically, many of the workers who were working on the development went to Dotty's for lunch. A tenacious Jeff Stanley stood his ground and for his headstrong stance he was rewarded with a settlement from the bank that allowed him to move to a new location.

After 14 years on Regent Street, Stanley moved Dotty's to Fairchild Street, not far from the Wisconsin State Capitol. This is the location that many people remember, not only for the "build-your-own" burgers, the funky antiques and sports memorabilia he had on display, but for another fight Stanley put up to keep his building from being destroyed through urban renewal. The City of Madison had plans for the area around Dotty's for the new Overture Center for the Arts, a state of the art performance hall. The city condemned the building through eminant domain, but Stanley - a battle-hardened veteran of fighting big business - decided to fight back.

As the case against eminent domain ran through the courts, the city began to demolish buildings around Dotty's. While the foundation of the Overture Center was being poured, Dotty Dumpling's Dowry stood like a lone sentinal in the battle against urban renewal. (I had a picture somewhere of the singular Dotty's with a large pit on the three sides around the building.) Stanley eventually lost his fight in court and was forced to close Dotty's in 2001. It stayed closed for two years before Stanley found a new spot on N. Frances St., just down the street from the Kohl Center. (see map)

As Dotty's moved to its new location in 2003, Rachael Stanley joined her father in the family business creating and implementing new business procedures, expanding the food offerings to include lamb, bison, turkey and veggie burgers, and running the day-to-day operations. Rachael Stanley also instituted an annual in-house contest that allowed workers to come up with a new burger concoction and a chance to win a $150 prize. Many of the burgers that Dotty's serves have come from those contests.

During a visit to Madison earlier this summer, I decided to stop in to Dotty's to reconnect with one of my all-time favorite burger places. Quite frankly, I thought on previous visits to the new location the burgers weren't as good as when they were in the Frances Street location. I was told that the grill from Fairchild Street was brought over, so there shouldn't be any difference. Or so one would think.

The "new" Dotty's is definitely more upscale in decor than the previous location and a tad bit larger in seating capacity. The old location had what one would call "character". It wasn't a dump, nor did it have a formulated whimsical-style of decor that I detest. Offbeat and curious would be the terms I'd use for their decor. Actually, they had some pretty interesting things that they had on the walls and hanging from the ceiling of the old place including an old full sized canoe. And many of those items made it to the new location.

The bar at this Dotty's is much nicer with lots of dark wood paneling, antique style desk lamps and the familiar "World Hamburger Headquarters" sign on the back bar. The ceilings are lower at this location than it was over on Fairchild Street making the place a little more cozy. Stained glass windows, antique circus posters, old photographs, early 20th century sports memorabilia, model airplanes and even a small replica of the Hindenburg were part of the decor at Dotty's.

I always liked this antique felt and chenille banner from the old location - "When Better Men are Made - Wisconsin Women Will Make Them." This banner could be close to 100 years old.

Something that is over 100 years old is this tribute to the Wisconsin 1913-14 Big Ten Conference basketball champions. The twelve basketballs feature the scores of the 12 Big Ten conference games they won that year on the way to a 15-0 season record. (They beat the former Parsons College from Fairfield, IA in a non-conference game by an unbelievable score of 50-0!) The names of the 12 Badger players, the team manager and legendary Wisconsin head basketball coach Walter Meanwell are painted on the board. Each time I go into Dotty's I stop to marvel at the display. I'm mesmerized by it, and I don't quite know why.

I took a seat near the bar at a high top table. Over the half wall on the other side are shorter tables and a number of booths along the wall. I could see into the open kitchen, a concept brought over from the Dotty's on Fairchild Street. I remember that you had to order at the counter by the kitchen at the old location and you'd have to pick up your food when your name was called. At this Dotty's location, they have wait staff to take your orders.

Billy was my server that day. He came around with a menu and I ordered up a Bell's Two Hearted Ale. Burgers are the main draw at Dotty's, of course. They source their beef from local Wisconsin farmers and the burger meat is ground in-house each day and never frozen. They have well over a dozen signature burgers including a Black and Blue Burger with a burger patty and topped with Maytag Blue Cheese, Louisiana Hot Sauce and bacon from Jones Dairy Farm; a burger topped with mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, pesto and a house-made roasted red pepper mayo sauce; and a new burger on their menu - the Green & Gold (named after the Green Bay Packers) with a burger that was topped with cheddar cheese, deep fried dill pickles and a bacon mayo sauce. This is one of the burgers that won the employee competition that they have annually at Dotty Dumpling's.

In addition to burgers, Dotty's also features a number of sandwiches including various grilled chicken sandwiches, vegan burgers, turkey and lamb burgers. They also have a deep-fried cod fish sandwich and a grilled salmon sandwich, as well. They also feature salads, soups and they have a killer jambalaya that is made in house.

I decided to build my own burger topped with baby Swiss cheese, sautéed mushrooms, Jones Dairy Farm bacon, red onions and dill pickles. The key to a good burger - I've always said - is the bun. And the bun at Dotty's has always been great. It's a soft, lightly sesame seeded bun that is neither too small nor too big for the burger and toppings.

The burger was thick and juicy with that great flat-grilled taste to it. This seemed to be a better burger than the previous visits I've had to Dotty's "newer" location. The bun held together very well with everything I had on the burger (I added some ketchup and mustard) and it reminded me of how awesome of a burger Dotty's really has.

Dotty Dumpling's Dowry continues to be one of my all-time favorite burger places, not only for the burger and the good selection of eclectic beers, but for the interesting decor that always catches my attention during my visits. This visit reinforced my notion that Dotty's is one of the top burger destinations in the Midwest and beyond. I know there are other good burger places in Madison, but Dotty's has been the gold standard that others have been trying to top for years. And even the competitors would probably admit it would be tough to beat a Dotty's burger.

It had a been a long day of travel in trying conditions thanks to a fierce Spring wind that was buffeting much of Wisconsin earlier this year. When I finally got into my hotel on the west side of Madison I was tired and hungry. Perusing through a local tourism magazine in my room, I saw a listing for the Vintage Brewing Company that was not far from my hotel. One of my local dealers in Madison told me last fall that he really enjoyed both the beer selection and the food at Vintage Brewing Company and I decided to head over there that evening.

Vintage Brewing Co. is located in a strip mall off Whitney Way in what was the former J.T. Whitney's brew pub that closed in March of 2009. (See map) (As an aside - at one point in time, a good friend of mine had a small stake in J.T. Whitney's, but he sold his share before they closed their doors.) After J.T. Whitney's closed, Brittany and Trent Kraemer - who along with Trent's brother Mark owned Vintage Spirits and Grill in Madison - decided to take over the space to do their own variation of a brew pub. With the help of friends, the trio remodeled the space and hired a culinary team headed by Andrew Hurst before opening in February 2010. The Kraemer's also opened a small bar - The Woodshed in nearby Sauk City - in 2013 that features regional microbrews as well as some of the namesake Woodshed beers that are brewed at the Vintage Brewing Co.

The Kraemer's fashioned the decor and furnishings at Vintage Brewing Co. as sort of a cross between a 50's-style Northwoods diner and a happenin' 60's urban hangout. There's a lounge area near the bar that features naugahyde chairs and sofas with 60's-style lamps. The bar area features a number of wood booths in subdued lighting.

I was greeted by a young man at the host stand who asked me if I wanted to get a table in the dining area. He guided me to the back area and when I noticed that the place was rather packed, I decided to look toward some seating at the bar. I found a space at the bar and told him that I'd rather sit there and watch some Milwaukee Brewers baseball that was on the flat screen televisions hung around the bar area. He dropped off a menu and I decided that I was ready for a beer.

One of the bartenders came over to greet me and I ordered up a Woodshed IPA, a house-brewed IPA from Vintage Brewing. As he brought me the beer, he asked if he could get my credit card from me so he could start a tab. I gave him my card and didn't think anything more about it.

The menu at Vintage Brewing features a number of entrees including a bacon-crusted meat loaf, beer-battered cod, and yellowfin tuna steak served on a bed of black beans, sweet corn, rice and cilantro, then topped with a house-made coconut banana sauce and pineapple salsa, then finished with crunchy fried bananas and scallions. That sounded like a lot of stuff going on with that dish.

Enjoying my Woodshed IPA, I figured out that I wanted to go the comfort food route that evening. I decided upon Not Your Mama's Stroganoff - short beef ribs that are braised and pulled from the bone and placed in a stroganoff sauce with sliced mushrooms, onions, garlic, peas, Parmesan cheese and sour cream. The stroganoff is served over egg noodles and then topped with a truffle oil. I also got my choice of a side with it and I ordered up the spicy cole slaw. That all sounded so good and I was ready to order.

Except the guy who took my original beer order and placed my credit card at the cash register 20 minutes earlier had disappeared. There was a flurry of activity behind the oblong-shaped bar and the handful of bartenders that passed in front of me acted like I wasn't even there. I tried to make eye contact with some of them, but they were too busy doing other things or completely ignoring me. However, the bartenders weren't too busy to carry on conversations with a couple next to me - obviously they were regulars. But it was getting kind of ridiculous.

Finally, I had to get the attention of one of the other male bartenders and told him that I was ready to order. He seemed sort of surprised and said, "Yeah, sure! I can help you out!" He had no idea that my card was already at the cash register as he asked if he could get my card to hold. Once we got past the awkwardness, I ordered up my dinner and another Woodshed IPA.

They bartender who took my order never came back the rest of the night. My meal was brought out by another bartender who was having trouble figuring out who had ordered the stroganoff. Service was a little less than desirable sitting at the bar that evening.

But the food more than made up for the choppiness of the service that evening. The pulled beef was tender and very flavorful in the creamy rich stroganoff sauce. The sliced mushrooms were fresh and had a great earthy taste in the sauce. The quality of the flavor of the beef stroganoff was simply outstanding.

But what got me was how great the spicy cole slaw tasted. It was a creamy cole slaw that had a cool beginning followed by a fiery spiciness that just crept up and zapped my taste buds. The spicy cole slaw was equally outstanding. This was a meal that was an utter and complete spot-hitter.

When I was ready to cash out, I had to get the attention of another bartender - this time a female bartender who tried to get me to order another beer. I declined the offer and asked for my bill and credit card. It took four different people to wait on me at Vintage Brewing Company, but the service was indifferent and somewhat uneven.

Other than the rough service I encountered seated at the bar, the overall meal at Vintage Brewing Co. was very, very good. I thought the Woodshed IPA was also good and went well with the meal. The stroganoff was some of the best I've tasted and the spicy cole slaw was a very memorable side dish. While the service was a bit of a downside to the overall experience, I would have no problem recommending Vintage Brewing Company for a good meal and good beer.

Up in Madison, WI recently, I had a late afternoon meeting that ran into the early evening. At the end of the session I told the guys that I was going out to grab a brew or two and something to eat. A couple of the guys had to beg off due to family obligations, but one of the guys said that he'd go out with me. He said that he'd heard about a newish place out in Verona, just west of Madison, called Brews Brothers. One of the other guys said, "Hey, there's one up in Middleton. It's been open for awhile." Since I was staying in Middleton that evening, I said that we could go back there for something to eat and drink.

The reason I have Mr. Brews Taphouse in the parenthesis in the title of this entry is that by the time you read this they may have changed the name of their places in the Madison area. The first Brews Brothers opened near Wausau, WI in March of 2013. Steve Day and Gary Hanson are the partners in the establishments which focuses on burgers, local breweries, and a sports bar theme. The Middleton location opened in December of 2013 and the Verona location opened in the Spring of 2014. I understand a fourth Brews Brothers - most likely a Mr. Brew's Taphouse - will open soon if it hasn't already in Waunakee, just north of Madison with a Madison location on State Street slated to open soon, as well, with even more beer taps than the one in Middleton.

The Middleton Brews Brothers is located in a strip mall along Junction Road just south of Old Sauk Road just west of the Madison beltway. (see map) There's plenty of parking but there's other business there that take up a lot of the parking spots. I was lucky to find a spot with a car leaving as I pulled up near Brews Brothers. My guest that evening, driving his own car, wasn't as lucky. He had to circle the lot a few times before he got a parking spot toward the back of the lot.

Brews Brothers isn't that large, it's a narrow space with entrances on both the west and east side of the building. Lighted beer signs and a number of flat screen televisions helped give a the place a somewhat eerie glow. (Below left - Note the insufferable jackass giving me the finger as I took the picture.)

Brews Brothers has nearly 50 craft beers on tap - many from micro-breweries from Wisconsin and other parts of the Midwest - with a handful of beers available in bottles. Looking through the beer menu, I saw that they had the Kona Big Wave Golden Ale on tap. When our server for the evening, Darby, came over to greet me after I sat down (my guest was still trying to find a parking spot) I immediately ordered a pint of the Big Wave. She came back a couple moments later and said, "I'm sorry, but we're out of the Kona Big Wave. We have another Kona beer on tap." It was the Longboard Lager. I told her that I'd take that instead.

About the same time that my guest finally got into the place, Darby came back to the table to let me know that the keg for the Kona Longboard had just blown. OK - a place with nearly four dozen beers on tap is now two for two on beers it is out of. I ended up getting a Capital Wisconsin Amber that is brewed less than a couple miles away at the Capital Brewery. My guest got a Warped Speed Scotch Ale from the Lake Louie Brewing Co. located in Arena, WI about 30 miles northwest of Madison.

The menu at the Middleton Brews Brothers/Mr. Brew's is definitely slanted toward burgers. They feature a dozen burgers (including a turkey burger) as well as a pulled pork sandwich and a grilled chicken sandwich. For a sports bar they are unusually lacking on appetizers - there are only two on the menu. The burgers are ground 5 ounce patties (pre-cooked) that the restaurant gets from Knoche's, a long time Madison area butcher shop, and then served on a bakery-fresh bun. Pickles, onions (raw or grilled), tomato and lettuce are also available with each burger.

Some of the interesting burgers on the menu include a bacon, mac & cheese burger with a beef patty topped with, well, bacon, mac & cheese and finished off with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper. The Rajun' Cajun features a burger with pepperjack cheese and a housemade Cajun lime sauce. Or for the truly adventurous, you can get the Rajun' Cajun with habanero jack cheese and jalapenos. And the Kentucky Bourbon Classic is topped with cheddar cheese, grilled onions, bacon, French-fried onions and a housemade Kentucky Bourbon sauce.

I ended up getting the mushroom/Swiss cheese burger and asked Darby if I could get bacon with it. (There was an 89 cent upcharge for bacon on the burger - which is cheap compared to other places who will charge $1.50 to $2 bucks.) Interestingly, it said in the menu that the burger was also topped in gravy. Hmmm... OK. Fries came with the burger and I had my choice of seasonings - Cajun', sea salt and cracked black pepper, parmesan cheese with garlic, barbecue sauce, cheddar cheese sauce or ranch dressing. I got them with the sea salt and cracked black pepper.

My guest got the California burger that is topped with a slice of pepperjack cheese, an avacado spread and a roasted red bell pepper sauce. He got the parmesan cheese and garlic seasoning for his fries.

The burgers came out and my burger was loaded with Swiss cheese and fresh sauteed mushrooms with a couple slices of thick cut bacon. But there was no gravy on the burger. It wasn't a deal buster, but I would have liked to have tried the taste of gravy on the burger - especially if they advertise it as having gravy on it. The fries were sort of thin cut and, quite honestly, I didn't see much cracked black pepper on them - if any. But the burger was good and juicy. The bun was fresh and airy. It was a good burger, plain and simple.

My guest's burger had a large dollop of the avocado spread (not guacamole) with a smaller dollop of the roasted red pepper spread on top. He said that the overall taste was very good. It looked like there was a lot of taste sensations going on with his burger.

So, Brews Brothers/Mr. Brews Taphouse is basically all about beers and burgers. I would give them a nod to the number of microbrews they have, but knock a points off for not having two of the first beers that I ordered. And they do have some interesting and eclectic burgers on the menu, but they did forget the gravy like I was supposed to get on my burger. I know they're looking to expand the concept through franchising so there's a chance you'll see a lot more of the Mr. Brews Taphouse locations in the future. (Picture courtesy Host.Madison.com)

Earlier this year, I was up in Minneapolis and had lunch at the Convention Grill. (Click here to see my entry on the Convention Grill.) On their menu, the Convention Grill had a burger called the Plazaburger that pays homage to the original Plazaburger at the Plaza Tavern in Madison, WI. After a morning meeting with a dealer in Madison, I ventured to the downtown area near the University of Wisconsin campus to hit the Plaza Tavern for the original Plazaburger.

What makes a Plazaburger unique is the housemade sauce that they put on the burger. It's something that the wife of former owner Harold Huss came up after they bought the Plaza Tavern in the early 60's. Actually, the Plaza Tavern dates back to the days of Prohibition when it was a speakeasy run by a former University of Wisconsin football player by the name of "Moon" Molinaro. In the late 20's, Al Grebe bought the place and put in a bowling alley. It was at the Plaza bowling alley that a lady by the name of Jennie Hoverson Kelleher bowled the first ever 300 game by a woman in a sanctioned tournament on Feb. 12, 1930.

Harold Huss came to work for Al Grebe in 1945 and worked there for 18 years before he eventually bought the business in 1963. Huss' wife, Mary, came up with the sour cream and mayonnaise-based sauce that is a deep secret recipe (and one that has been dissected for years by patrons) for the Plazaburger. It's said that there have been over 2 million Plazaburgers sold over the past 50 years.

Harold Huss passed away in 1983 and Mary a year later. Their children took over ownership the Plaza Tavern and installed bar employee Dean Hetue as the manager. In 2003, Hetue ended up buying the Plaza Tavern and the secret sauce recipe from the Huss family.

The Plaza Tavern is on N. Henry Street, off of State Street and between Johnson and Gorham streets, west of the Wisconsin State Capitol. (see map) Henry is a one way street and I was able to find a parking spot just down the street.

It was early, before noon, when I walked into the place. I suddenly remembered that I had been in the place before. We had gone up for an Iowa/Wisconsin football game a number of years ago and bar-hopped after the game. With all the arcade-style video games in the place, I remembered that we'd had a couple beers there, but no burgers.

I took a seat at the bar and a lady came over to greet me. She asked me if I wanted anything to drink and I asked if she had an Capital Brewery products. She named four different varieties including the Wisconsin Amber. I took one of those. "They're in bottles," she said. "Is that all right?" Sure!

She asked if I needed a menu and I took one from her. I pretty much knew that I was going to get a Plazaburger, but I wondered what else they had to offer at the Plaza Tavern. And there's not much - it's a pretty short menu with burgers, grilled ham, tuna or turkey and cheese sandwiches, fried or grilled chicken sandwiches and a reuben. When she brought me my beer, I ordered the Plazaburger. I asked her if I should get it with cheese. "If you want cheese on your Plazaburger, you should get cheese," she said playfully. All right - cheese on the Plazaburger, then! She asked if I wanted a side - fries, onion rings, cole slaw, potato salad, etc. - and I said that the Plazaburger should be enough for me.

The Plazaburger was cooked on a flat grill that undoubtedly has years of seasoning burned into it. It was served to me on a small plate with a side of pickles. It came on a whole wheat bun - something I can't say that I've ever had with a burger. And they cut the burger in half before serving it. I had pretty much finished my first bottle of Capital Wisconsin Amber and she asked if I wanted another one. Sure!

The Plazaburger patty wasn't very thick. They say they're 1/4 pound burger patties, but it didn't look much larger than a basic McDonald's burger. The sauce was slathered - Wait! I'm starting to hate that term - the sauce was thickly smeared (better?) on the bottom of the bun with the cheese-topped burger resting on the sauce. I wasn't certain what to do with the pickles, so I just kept them on the side.

Now, I'm a condiment kind of guy with my burgers. Ketchup and mustard is usually what I put on a burger along with sliced onions and dill pickles. I'm not much of sauce guy on my burgers. But with the Plazaburger, I thought I'd give it a legitimate shot. I did squirt some ketchup on the plate just in case.

From the first bite of the Plazaburger, well, I couldn't really tell you much about the burger because the sauce was about all I could taste. But the sauce was well, good. Actually, pretty damn good. I was pleasantly surprised with the taste of the sauce on the Plazaburger. I could get hints of dill, possibly some chives, as well. I dipped a bit of the burger in the ketchup, but decided that it didn't go well with the sauce. The Plazaburger was excellent with the sauce. Without the sauce, I'm not certain it would be all that great. The bun was a bit dried out, but you're gonna get that with a whole wheat bun.

When I was presented with the bill, I got a bad taste in my mouth. The Plazaburger with cheese was $5.25 - not a bad price. But the price of one bottle of the Capital Wisconsin Amber was $5.00. And I got TWO! A six-pack of Wisconsin Amber in any liquor store in Madison isn't much more than $6 or $7 bucks. It was $10 bucks for two beers - I wanted two beers, not a 12-pack! The bill came to $15.25 - no tax included. I just couldn't believe that they'd charge that much for a beer that was brewed less than 10 miles away. I figured they must deliver the Capital beers to the Plaza Tavern in a stretch limousine.

And, guess what? They don't take credit cards at the Plaza Tavern. I laid down a $20, got change, and left a two buck tip. Ouch.

So, other than the high price of the bottled Capital beer, the Plazaburger was worth the stop. For not being big on burgers with sauces on them, I'll have to give my wholehearted approval for the Plazaburger. I was a little disappointed in the overall cost of the meal, but I worked through it. For 50 years, people have been enjoying the Plazaburger at The Plaza Tavern. They have another convert. Just don't do it with ketchup.

One day a few weeks ago, I was telling my next door neighbor that I would soon be going up to Madison for a business trip. She began to tell me about a place that I wasn't familiar with - Paisan's Italian Restaurant. She said, "Oh, my gosh, they have good pizza and they have this sandwich - the Garibaldi! Oh! It's to die for!" My neighbor can be a little overly dramatic at times, but the conviction in her voice told me that I probably needed to stop at Paisan's during that part of my trip.

The original Paisan's (of course, it means "friend" in Italian) began in 1950 in a small restaurant on the corner of Park Street and University in Madison. Roy McCormick and his wife, Rosa, used recipes that her Sicilian family handed down over the years. Paisan's was one of the first places in Madison to serve pizza. The restaurant eventually moved into the basement of a building that eventually became a sister restaurant - Porta Bella. But for over 30 years, most Madison residents remember Paisan's in the University Square complex near the University of Wisconsin - Madison campus. When University Square underwent a major facelift in 2006, the new owners - Ed Shinnick, Jerry Meier and Wally Borowski - decided to move to a new 9,000 square foot street level location in a professional building along Walker Street. (see map) The new Paisan's opened in 2007.

The new Paisan's didn't skip a beat with the menu as all three owners - Shinnick, Meier and Borowski - used to work for the McCormick's at the original Paisan's. All the recipes that Rosa McCormick used back in the 50's are being used today.

There is a tri-level parking garage underneath the building on W. Wilson, just south and west of the Wisconsin State Capitol square. You must take a ticket, but Paisan's will validate your parking after 5 p.m. on weeknights and all day on Saturday and Sunday. After parking the car on the first level, I took the elevator up to the lobby level and immediately saw a door that was marked "Paisan's Entrance".

After being greeted by a young man at the host stand, he shepherded me down a long hallway, past a colorful back-lit stained glass display, past an enclosed cabinet with ornate beer steins on the shelves, and into a small alcove - one of two or three they had in Paisan's. I took a seat in an enclosed booth and he dropped off a menu for me to look over.

The popular place to dine at Paisan's on a nice summer evening is their outdoor patio that overlooks Lake Monona. It was around 7 p.m. when I got into Paisan's and I was told that it was a 30 minute wait if I wanted to eat outside. I was happy with my cozy little booth in one of the alcoves.

(I tried taking pictures of different areas of the inside of Paisan's, but the disparity of bright outside light coming through the windows and inside dimmed lighting played havoc on my camera phone. So, I lifted the inside and outside pictures from Paisan's Facebook page. The food pictures below were taken by my camera phone.)

Actually, Paisan's is deceivingly big. It's somewhat of a labyrinth of hallways that empty out into a spacious dining room with large windows that look out over the patio. Another dining area is off to the side in the back corner of the building. Paisan's can seat a lot of people inside and out when the weather is nice.

The bar area is to the left as you come into the main entrance. There's a large back bar and a semi-circled seating area with windows that look out onto a patio that runs along Walker Street. It was a nice bar and one that I would have liked to have eaten in had I known I could have eaten in there.

My server for the evening, Paige, came over to greet me as I was going through the menu. She asked if I wanted anything to start out and I noticed on their beer menu that they had Capital Supper Club beer on tap. I got a pint of the Supper Club.

When my neighbor was singing the praises of Paisan's, she was telling me about the Garibaldi sandwich. It's one of Paisan's signature items, something that they've been serving for 55 years. They take a small French bread loaf and place ham and salami in it, then add pepper jack cheese and tomatoes on top of that, then you have a choice of green peppers and/or banana peppers. And that's the Garibaldi. With the banana peppers, it sounded pretty good.

Another signature item is Paisan's pizza. It's a thin crust pizza with an onion-tomato sauce and topped with your choice of fresh mozzarella, Wisconsin cheddar or spicy cheese, and your choice of fresh toppings from as diverse as pepperoni to a walnut-basil pesto. I was leaning toward the pizza.

Paisan's also has a number of pasta dishes including something called Seafood Tetrazinni - you get your choice of pasta noodles and then it's topped with shrimp, scallops, imitation crab meat and chunks of haddock mixed in with creamy white sauce. They also had a three meat cannelloni - large tubes of pasta filled with a mixture of ground beef, chicken and Italian sausage, and topped with either a tomato marinara or a cheese sauce. They sounded interesting, but I was going for the pizza.

They have four different sizes of pizza at Paisan's - a 6" personal size, a 9" small, a 12" medium, and a 16" large. They have a number of featured pizzas on the menu, but I opted to order one with my standard Italian sausage, pepperoni, and mushrooms. Paige asked, "Is it OK if the sauce has onions in it?" I normally don't go with onions on a pizza, but it must be something that makes the Paisan pizza special. I went with the flow.

I sort of figured that I needed a salad, too. I asked Paige if I could get one of their vegetable salads (as opposed to another signature item on Paisan's menu - the Porta consisting of a mixture of iceberg and romaine lettuce topped with ham and salami, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, with garbanzo beans and green peppers). I got a side of blue cheese dressing with it.

The salad was delivered with a small plate of warm chunks of French bread. The salad was piled with lettuce greens, chopped carrotts, broccoli crowns, cucumbers and tomato slices. The blue cheese dressing was all right. The veggie salad was fresh and crisp. It was a good entry toward the pizza.

Paige brought out the pizza and I immediately thought it had potential. The crust looked misshapen like a good hand-tossed pizza should be. The outer edges of the pizza had caramelized and it was covered with a good amount of Italian sausage chunks, thick slices of pepperoni and fresh cut mushrooms.

The first bite told me it was a good pizza - not a great pizza, but good one, nonetheless. The crust was firm, but not overly crunchy. The Italian sausage had a sweet taste with a hint of fennel. I loved the thick and flavorful pepperoni slices that curled up on their edges from the baking process. The mushrooms were a little underwhelming as they lacked that good mushroom flavor I look for on pizza. But it was a better than average thin crust pizza.

For just the pizza alone, Paisan's would be worth the visit. But their other menu items - the Garibaldi sandwich and the pasta dishes, mainly - would be worth checking out. While I enjoyed the pizza and Paige's attentive service, I will say that Paisan's was a little pricey. It was $16 dollars and change for a three topping 9" pizza with cheese with an additional $3.85 for the side veggie salad. With two beers and a tip for Paige, the bill came to well over $30 bucks. I wouldn't quite build up Paisan's in the way that my neighbor did for me, but it was a good pizza in a good setting with good service.

On a recent trip to Madison, I took a couple guys from one of my dealers out to dinner. Madison, of course, is a big beer town with a number of restaurants and brew pubs with good food and great beer. We had been to Great Dane brew pub a handful of times (click here to see my entry on Great Dane) and I was sort of looking to mix things up. One of the guys said, "Well, Sprecher's (a small brewery out of Milwaukee) has a brew pub over near Middleton. They have great food. We could go there." Since I was staying in a hotel in the same general area that evening, I enthusiastically agreed that we should go there.

Sprecher's Restaurant and Pub is located in an area of West Madison that has a number of hotels and restaurants (see map). The building it's housed in used to be a Houlihan's until franchise owner Randy Lederer decided the didn't want to be tied to a chain any longer - especially a chain that had been slowly fading away. (Today, there are less than 50 Houlihan's restaurants across America.) Lederer approached Sprecher Brewing Company owner Randy Sprecher with an idea that would exclusively pair Sprecher beers with upscale pub food. Sprecher was sold on the concept. The first Sprecher's Restaurant and Pub opened in Madison in early 2010. Lederer - who along with his wife, Katy, and his in-law's, Felix and Kristin Richgels own the licensing for the Sprecher pubs - turned one of his Houlihan's locations in the Wisconsin Dells area into a Sprecher Restaurant and Pub a year later, then transformed a third location in Lake Geneva into a Sprecher location, as well. There has been talk of opening a Milwaukee location, but that hasn't happened as of yet.

Our small group got into the restaurant around 6:30 and we were greeted by a hostess who asked if we wanted to sit in the bar to the right, or in the dining area that was in front of us. There was a pretty good sized crowd in the bar area and it was pretty loud. We decided to sit in the spacious and somewhat elegant dining room (below right) to discuss a little business before having a relaxing dinner and multiple beers.

We were seated at a table with banquette seats on one side of the table and chairs on the other side. Our hostess left off dinner menus for us, and soon after our server for the evening - Lynsey - came over to greet us and get our beer order. The restaurant has 14 Sprecher beers on tap and four of their soda selections including their awesome root beer. I don't drink pop any longer, but the Sprecher root beer is one of the best I've ever had. But, it's - OH! - so sweet and rich that even when I did drink pop, it was difficult to take more than a few sips of the stuff.

To me, the Sprecher beers have also been a little too sweet for my taste. We've had Sprecher beers many times at Summerfest in Milwaukee. While I can't call them my favorite, they're still better than drinking Miller Lite. Their Amber beer was probably my favorite, but it was still a little too sweet for me. On the beer menu at the Sprecher restaurant they had an India pale ale that I decided to try. One of the other guys got the Black Bavarian beer - a dark beer with a full body. They had the seasonal Winter brew on tap during our visit, described as a "flavorful blend of dark roasted and sweet caramel malts defines this smooth and robust lager." My other guest got that and I immediately asked Lynsey if I could get a sample of that. She said, "Do you want a taste or a sample size?" What's the difference, I asked. She said, "I can just bring you out a small taste in a glass or a 4 oz. sample." I took the 4 oz. sample. I found out later on that the other difference was a $1.95 charge for the sample.

Looking through the menu, the Sprecher Restaurant and Pub had a long list of appetizers, as well as a number of entrees that are almost too numerous to mention. I was a little worried about the quality of the food because they had everything from steaks, seafood, sandwiches, salads, a number of burgers, flat bread pizzas, barbecue, German food, Irish pub favorites and American comfort food. It seems that restaurants who do a little bit of everything don't do them all very well.

As we were looking through the menus, it was time to get another beer. My I.P.A. was all right, nothing special, but I did like the taste of the Winter Brew and signed up for one of those for my second beer. My one guest also got a second Winter Brew, while the other guest decided the Black Bavarian was a little too heavy for him so he switched to the Hefe Weiss.

After conducting a little business at the table, we were ready to order our food. I was torn between the schnitzel - breaded pork tenderloins served with a lemon caper sauce and topped with a fried egg; or the meat loaf - a special meat blend that comes with veggies and pepper jack cheese, then topped with their onion straws and a brown gravy. They also had jambalaya on the menu that caught my eye. But I thought the schnitzel or meat loaf would be better. When Lynsey came by to take our order, I almost jumped on the meat loaf, but ended up getting the schnitzel.

One of my guests that evening ordered the tender tips - beef tips tossed with Wit-beer marinated mushrooms served over beer-cheese potatoes and topped with a red wine reduction sauce. That actually sounded pretty good. He told me, "Oh man. My wife and I have eaten here over a dozen times over the past three years. And that's our favorite thing on the menu."

My other guest got the California burger - a burger with pepper jack cheese and guacamole on top. (I had a burger for lunch, or I would have been interested in looking into the Mushroom/Swiss cheese burger that is topped with a red-wine reduction sauce; or the Breakfast burger that is topped with cheddar cheese, bacon and a fried egg. I may have to go back there for lunch at some point.)

Our food made its way to the table and I was ready to eat. The Winter Brew was very good - probably the best Sprecher beer I've had. I didn't think it was sweet as compared to other Sprecher brews I've had in the past. I was looking forward to pairing it with my schnitzel.

My schnitzel featured two medium sized pieces of pounded pork filets, covered with a breading and pan-fried. A small egg was on top and a small container of the lemon caper sauce was off to the side with a medley of veggies. The schnitzel was a little dried out and even the lemon caper sauce had a hard time making it palatable. It was all right, but definitely not the best schnitzel I've ever had.

The tender beef tips were served in a bowl with large button mushrooms and onion straws on top. My guest who had that was in heaven. "This is the best thing on the menu," he said between bites. "The burgers are good here, too. But this is my go-to item on the menu."

My guest with the California burger was very pleased with his burger, as well. It came on a bed of lettuce and red onion slices with French fries on the side. There was a liberal amount of guacamole on the burger. He said, "Oh, yeah. This is good. They do have good burgers here." I'll have to try either the Breakfast burger or the Mushroom/Swiss cheese burger if I make it back.

After we'd finished, Lynsey came back with our bill. I was sort of surprised that she didn't ask if we wanted anything else because we all wanted an after dinner beer. I sort of kiddingly asked, "Do you want us to leave? We were thinking of getting another beer."

She sort of jumped and embarrassingly said, "Oh! I'm so sorry! Sure, you can stay! Stay as long as you want!" I immediately ordered up another Winter brew, while my other guest who had been drinking the Winter brew switched to the Pipers Scotch Ale - a reddish-brown beer with a slightly smoky taste. My other guest - full from his beef tip entree - decided to go light with the Fire-Light, the lightest beer Sprecher has in their beer arsenal. I've had it before and it has a distinctive fruit taste that I didn't care for. I was happy with my Winter Brew.

My schnitzel was pretty underwhelming and, as I suspected, a place that has many diverse things on the menu doesn't do all of them well. My guests seemed to like their beef tips and burger, respectively. Overall, the experience at Sprecher's Restaurant and Pub was nice, we had good service from Lynsey and the dining room was a very comfortable setting. I'm just wondering if they could cut down on a third of their items on the menu and focus more on the food that is left. I just think there's too many things to choose from on their menu and some items - like the schnitzel - suffer because of it.

I had an evening training session for one of my dealers in Madison one evening earlier this spring and I told them I'd take them out for dinner. They know that I'll eat at a national chain as a last resort and like to gravitate toward places that locally unique. We were trying to figure out where to eat that was close by for all of us and someone suggested a steak house up the road a bit called Delaney's Charcoal Steaks. I said, "Yeah, steak sounds good. I haven't had a good steak on the road for quite a while." So, it was off to Delaney's for dinner.

We pulled off of S. Gammon Road on the west side of Madison and onto Odana Rd. My dealer was driving and I said, "I used to stay at that hotel right over there when it was a Hampton Inn." Instead of turning right to go into the hotel, he took a left and just down the street was Delaney's Charcoal Steaks. (see map) I was incredulous. "I stayed at that place over there for six years before they built the new Hampton Inn up the road and I never knew it was over here," I told the guys. "I could have walked from the hotel to this place!"

The official name of the restaurant is actually JIM Delaney's Charcoal Steaks, named after the founder of the place. Jim Delaney was a former Marine Corp officer and a service station manager when he saw an opportunity to open his own restaurant in a strip mall on Odana Road just around the corner from the present day location of the steak house that bears his name. A number of people cautioned Delaney saying that a fine dining establishment wouldn't work outside of the downtown Madison area, but he went through with his plans and opened his steak house in 1973. Delaney was the "jack of all trades" at the restaurant, wearing the hat of maintenance man, bookkeeper, waiter, bus boy and other jobs around the restaurant. However, unlike most restaurant owners, Delaney never pretended he was in charge of the kitchen. He knew good steaks and hired good cooks to work in his restaurant.

After a number of years in business, Delaney moved the restaurant to a larger location on Grand Canyon Drive, nestled back on a side street that you obviously had to know was there. Delaney felt that the quality of the food and the service at his restaurant would attract people no matter where it was.

Unfortunately, Jim Delaney died earlier this year at the age of 71. His son, Daniel, is the long-time manager of Delaney's Charcoal Steaks and continues to run the business today.

The interior of Delaney's immediately reminded me of a rural supper club, the kind found all over Central and Northern Wisconsin. There was a large bar area off to the left as you come in with a large rectangular bar with a center liquor island taking up a good slice of the real estate of the room. I immediately saw myself sitting at the bar at some point enjoying a meal.

There were three of us that evening - the other salesperson had to go home to attend to a sick wife - and we were seated in a smallish dining room. Delaney's appeared to have a number of little dining rooms in the place and not one large dining area. Well, except for the bar. Our host gave us menus and we ordered up some drinks to tide us over.

We were tag-teamed that evening by two well-dressed waiters who were very attentive to our needs all evening long. I was sort of confused how to tip them at the end of the evening as I didn't know if I should add a little extra for both guys. I think I ended up tipping about 20% and let them fight over it.

Delaney's Charcoal Steaks also had a pretty nice little wine list that featured a number of wines I was familiar with. They had a 2006 Whitehall Lane cabernet that I've had in the past for $50 bucks a bottle, a little expensive compared to other places I've seen it, but still a good wine to have with steaks. I offered to get some wine, but my two guests were content with beer and a rum and Coke, respectively, for their dinner. Delaney's did offer a handful of wines by the glass and I figured I could just get a glass with my meal if I needed it.

For beer, I had an American pale ale from the Lake Louie Brewerylocated in Arena, WI. I've seen this beer when I've gone beer hunting at liquor stores in the greater Madison area, but had never tried it before. The guest who ordered the beer was telling me about it and I thought I'd give it a try. It was more of a malty taste for a pale ale, not quite as hoppy as I'm used to. But it was still smooth and it drank well.

Naturally, steaks rule the menu at Delaney's. But they also feature pork chops, grilled chicken and seafood, as well. The onion rings are famous throughout South Central Wisconsin and we got an order of those as an appetizer before we ordered up our main meal. And they were great - a light, beer batter over sweet onion slices. I can see why they're so famous in the area.

The special that evening was an apple-wood smoked bacon-wrapped filet. That sounded good, but I was leaning toward just a straight filet. They had three sizes - 6 oz., 8 oz. and 12 oz. The 12 oz. was a little pricey - $38 bucks. I ended up ordering the 8 oz. filet, rare. For a couple bucks more, I had it prepared au poivre style with a cognac and pepper cream sauce on top. I got a side of their garlic mashed potatoes to go along with my steak. A salad came with the meal and I got their homemade oil and vinegar with blue cheese crumbles on top. It was a very good salad.

One of my guests got the special that evening along with a side of mushrooms and onions, while the other guy got the 16 oz bone-in rib eye steak. He got a baked potato with the works as his side. I decided that I liked the Lake Louie beer and decided to stick with that instead of going with a glass of wine.

Our steaks came to the table and the presentation was very nice. My steak was exactly has I like it - a red, cool middle with a nice charred crust around the outside. The au poivre sauce was a wonderful compliment to the taste of the steak. The peppercorn chunks with the cognac cream sauce gave the steak a little bite to the taste. The garlic mashed potatoes were OK, not very garlicky, but that's OK, I was much more interested in my steak.

My guests also said their steaks were very good. One of my guests said, "It's been a few years since I was last here. It's just as good today as it was then. But then again, this place has always been very good."

We thought about having an after dinner drink after we finished, but decided against it. After I paid the bill and we were walking out, I looked into the bar area and I was just mesmerized by the wonderful step-up bar. I said, "You know what, I really wouldn't mind getting a drink at the bar, after all." Delaney's had a small list of good Scotch's and we each had one - I had the Oban 14 year single malt which was smooth, earthy and smoky. Well, I had a couple. We got to talking about business, proposed expansion of their building and ended up talking about some of the great supper clubs these guys had encountered over the years when they vacationed up north. It was a really fun evening with these guys.

A lot of people think that Smoky's Club is the best steak house in Madison. We were sort of talking about that and my guests were sort of perplexed as to how that could be. "I've always thought this was much better than Smoky's," one of the guys said. I told them about my experience at my one and only visit - ever - Smoky's (you can read about that disappointing meal by clicking here). The service at Delaney's was much better than Smoky's Club and the steak was much better, as well.

Delaney's Charcoal Steaks is sort of tough to find, but I can see why a lot of the locals love the place. There are a couple good to great steak places in Madison, and Delaney's is one of them. It was just excellent and I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Staying in Middleton, WI one evening, I had my stomach set to eat at a small Italian restaurant in the rapidly evolving downtown area of the town. I pulled up in front of the place and it was closed. It was well before the 9 p.m. closing time, but the lights were off and no one was in the place. I wondered if it had gone out of business, but it didn't appear to be the case. They were just closed that evening. I headed out west of the beltway highway knowing that there are a number of restaurant to choose from in that area. I drove by a shopping complex and looked over and saw a place called Abuelo's. (see map) Since "Abuelo" is "Grandfather" in Spanish, I rightly figured it had to be a Mexican restaurant. Hmmm.... Mexican. OK, it's not Italian, but Mexican would do that evening.

The Abuelo's in Middleton (pictured right) is part of a chain of nearly 50 upscale Mexican restaurants in 15 states stretching from Virginia across the South and Midwest to Arizona. The origins of Abuelo's is sort of interesting, considering that a Chinese native was the person who helped come up with the concept of providing upscale Mexican food.

James Young moved from his native Taiwan in the mid-70's to study electrical engineering at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. He'd never tried Mexican food before he made it to Lubbock, so it's rather curious how he ended up heading a chain of upscale Mexican restaurants. .

In order to make ends meet while Young was going to college, Young worked at a McDonald's, then worked as a waiter at a Chinese restaurant. His wife, Margaret, and he eventually opened their own small Chinese restaurant in a building that used to house a taco shop near the Texas Tech campus. The venture proved so successful that Young gave up any aspirations to become an electrical engineer and instead concentrated upon being a restaurant owner. His restaurant, Chinese Kitchen, had grown to 16 locations before Young partnered with Chuck Anderson and Dirk Rambo to develop the Abuelo's Mexican Food Embassy concept. They opened the first Abuelo's in Lubbock in 1989. Today, Young is the CEO of Food Concepts International, the parent company of Abuelo's.

As Abuelo's has grown, so has their reputation for good food at a good value. Consumer Reportshas twice named Abuelo's as the best concept Mexican food restaurant in the nation. They've also been cited for their efforts to preserve traditional Mexican artwork, much of which adorns their restaurants across the country.

I pulled into Abuelo's just after 8 p.m. on a Monday night. Monday nights are usually not that busy for most restaurants (that's probably why the Italian place was closed) and it was no exception at the Abuelo's in Middleton. I had my choice of a table in the ornate dining area, or to sit at the bar. They had a couple flat screen televisions above the bar with basketball on them, so I sat there. There was one other guy at the bar, but he was getting his food to go.

The bartender told me they had a special on margaritas that evening and I quickly signed up for one of those. He asked if I needed a menu and I took one from him. The margarita was good and sweet and was packed with an eye-opening amount of tequila. He later brought out a basket of homemade chips and two bowls of salsa - one large and one small. The small bowl was a chipotle-based salsa and the larger one was their regular salsa with a spicy bite. The chipotle salsa had a nice smoky bite to it and was rather enjoyable. I would have rather had a larger bowl of the chipotle salsa.

The menu featured your typical Mexican food fare - enchiladas, burritos, fajitas and tacos, but it was far from the "American-ized Mexican" food that most Mexican food chains seem to have. Abuelo's had some interesting house specialties including stuffed chicken medallions (chicken breasts stuffed with chorizo, poblano peppers and cheese, then fried), pescado Guerrero (wood-grilled mahi-mahi with shrimp, scallops, mushrooms, roasted peppers, spinach and sliced avocado in a white wine sauce), and enchiladas de Cozumel (three crepe enchiladas stuffed with grilled shrimp, scallops, mushrooms and fresh guacamole). No, this was not your typical American-Mexican restaurant by any means.

They had an extensive combination menu at Abuelo's including Mi Abuelo's manjar (three enchiladas filled with beef, cheese and chile con carne and topped with two eggs), the Nogales (two large enchiladas, one filled with shredded beef and ranchera sauce, the other filled with grilled chicken and a sour cream sauce), and a chile relleno combination (one with blended cheese stuffed inside and the other stuffed with shredded beef). I looked up and down the menu trying to figure out what I was going to get for dinner and I finall decided upon the make your own enchilada combination. I got one with ground beef and chile con carne sauce, another with pulled pork with a green chile sauce, and a shredded beef with ranchera sauce. Papas con chiles - mashed potatoes with red and green chiles, a blend of four different cheeses, sour cream, garlic and jalapenos - came with the enchiladas along with a side of refried beans.

I had pushed away the chips and salsa long before the meal came out or I would have gorged myself on them and ruined my appetite. And I'm glad I did - when the bartender brought out my dinner I was amazed at the large portion of food on my plate. The three enchiladas took up half the large plate and the Papas con chiles and the refried beans took up the other half.

The first enchilada I tried was the shredded beef with the smoky ranchera sauce. While it was good, the sauce sort of overpowered the overall taste of the enchilada.

I next tried the pulled pork with the green chile sauce. The pork was tasty and tender and the green chile sauce was just excellent. It was much better than the shredded beef enchilada with the ranchera sauce.

Finally, the ground beef taco with the chile con carne sauce was good, but not as good as the pulled pork. But I would rank it number two of the three I had that evening.

But I have to tell you, it's rare that the highlight of the meal is a side dish, but the papas con chile was just out of sight. As I was eating bite after bite of the potatoes, I thought to myself that it had to be easy to make. My wife makes a great garlic/cream cheese mashed potato recipe that is outstanding. I usually don't like to eat potatoes on their own, they're usually too bland. But Abuelo's zipped up their mashed potatoes with mild chiles, a blend of Mexican cheeses, sour cream and a hint of garlic with a little bite from chopped jalapenos. Finding the right combination would be the key.

The surprising thing about the whole meal is that the combination was just $11.95. With a margarita special for $3.00 and a Dos Equis Amber beer at $3.75, my meal was under $19 bucks before tax and tip. It was an outrageous value for pretty good Mexican food. And just trying the papas con chile was worth the price of admission for me.

Sometimes, the surprise you get from finding a good restaurant out of the blue makes it all worth while to be on the road. Abuelo's was one of those surprising finds and I wasn't disappointed in the least. If I make it back - and I probably will if I find another Abuelo's while I'm on the road - I'll modify my food order to not include anything with the ranchera sauce (good, but too overpowering) and go more with the green chile sauce. Oh, and the papas con chile. I can't forget that delectable dish! Yum!

If you're a regular reader of Road Tips, you'll know that I'm somewhat of a condiment junkie - I've even dedicated a whole condiment category on this blog. Both our refrigerator and pantry are filled with jars and bottles of barbecue sauce, mustard, horseradish and other interesting toppings that I've come across during my travels, much to the consternation of my wife. She just cringes when I come home with some different type of olive spread, steak sauce or spicy giardiniera. Of course, for a guy like me who loves the taste sensations of a good condiment on my food, there has to be a place to celebrate condiments and that place is the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, WI.

Now, if you're like me, who in the hell would start a museum that was dedicated to the history of mustard from around the world? It's actually a pretty compelling story.

Barry Levenson, a native of Massachusetts, was an assistant Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin in 1986 and he found himself wandering aimlessly down the aisles of an all-night grocery store a couple hours after his beloved Boston Red Sox lost the World Series. He suddenly stopped in front of the mustard display at the store and was mesmerized by the amount and different types of mustard on the shelves. It was then he had an epiphany for all things mustard.

The next year, Levenson went to Washington to argue a case before the Supreme Court. Before he went before the court to argue his case, he saw a small jar of mustard on a room service tray in the hallway of his hotel. Levenson picked it up, stuck it in his pocket and proceeded to win his case before the Supreme Court. Thinking that the mustard brought him good luck, Levenson began to collect mustard and archive the history of mustard.

Levenson's passion and collection grew to a point that he ended up quitting his post with the State of Wisconsin in 1992 and he opened the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum in Mount Horeb, WI, about 20 miles south and west of Madison. Levenson used a combination of kitsch, pop culture and history to tell his story of the history of mustard. And what better state to do it in - Wisconsin is the home of the North American bratwurst. And what is better with a bratwurst than mustard? Well, OK - mustard and sauerkraut with a bratwurst...

Levenson's collection grew so large that he was forced to move to a larger location in 2000 just across the street. Buoyed by a growing interest from people from around the world, Levenson's Mustard Museum was a regular stop for tourist buses and those curious people who happened to come into Mount Horeb off of Highway 151. Over 30,000 people would visit the Mustard Museum annually.

Mount Horeb, itself, was a sort of tourist community in its own right with it's famed "Trollway" - the main street through town was decorated with dozens of troll statues as the town paid homage to its Norwegian roots. A number of small shops and antique stores sprang up along that street, as well as a neat little brew pub called The Grumpy Troll. My wife and I have spent some time in Mount Horeb in the past, even visiting the Mustard Museum a few years ago. It really was rather interesting.

Someone, and I forget who, e-mailed me a long while back and said that I should go to the Mustard Museum in Mount Horeb and write about it on Road Tips. On a trip to Madison last fall, I drove into Mount Horeb and armed with my GPS directing me to the museum. I pulled up out front of where I remembered the Mustard Museum, only there was no Mustard Museum. I thought that maybe Levenson had run out of money because he charged no money to visit the museum and relied upon donations as well as the sale of assorted mustards and other condiments, shirts, mugs and other kitschy items from the gift shop.

I happened to be in Middleton, WI one evening a few weeks ago and I was looking for a place to eat dinner. One place that I had pinpointed for dinner was closed that evening and as I was regrouping to figure out where to go for Plan B, I looked over and to my surprise at the corner of Hubbard and Parmenter was the Mustard Museum (see map). Only it was now called the National Mustard Museum. The next day, I had a little time to kill after doing a morning training for American TV and decided to go see the new Mustard Museum.

It became apparent that Levenson was going to move his museum in 2009. Mount Horeb was shriveling up as many of the shops closed and storefronts became vacant. He wanted to go somewhere that had more of a central business area in a larger city. Downtown Middleton has been going through a transformation of a sleepy little suburb to a dynamic shopping and entertainment destination in the greater Madison area. Armed with a $50,000 relocation grant, Levenson moved into downtown Middleton in the fall of 2009.

The new building, which was renovated by a $1.4 million dollar gift from the city of Middleton to the owner of the property, effectively tripled the floor space of Levenson's old museum in Mount Horeb. The main floor houses the gift shop which features the mustards, sauces and other condiments (no ketchup!) the National Mustard Museum sells to help keep the door open. The displays were set up with different types of mustards - foreign made mustards, horseradish-based mustards, local Wisconsin mustards, hot mustards and even fruit mustards. A small counter near the center of the L-shaped main floor allows for periodic tastings of featured mustards. There are also a number of gift boxes of various mustards available to buy at the Mustard Museum. Seriously, it gave me a couple ideas for Christmas gifts later this year.

Levenson's sense of humor shows bright with a collection of shirts, mugs, teddy bears and other quirky items celebrating the Mustard Museum's fictional school of higher mustard learning, "Poupon U". The gift shop at the museum doubles as the "campus bookstore" for Poupon U as they also sell hats, baby bibs, pennants, can koozies, and even Poupon U diplomas. Some of the products were sort of ingenious but I definitely refrained from getting any of that stuff.

Down the stairs toward the back of the Mustard Museum, you'll find the museum itself loaded with over 5000 different types and brands of mustards from all over the world. One whole wall featured mustards from all 50 states and Canada (below left). The collection was even more impressive than I remember it to be when I first visited the original museum in Mount Horeb years ago.

The National Mustard Museum also features two large displays of French Dijon-style mustards (above right), including Amoramustard, one of my favorite of all the mustards in the world. When I go to France I always pick up a jar or two of Amora mustard. It has a sweet and tangy taste to it and goes great with just about anything. But I truly have to say that while I knew there were a lot of French Dijon mustards, I didn't know there was this many.

Of course, there had to be a display paying homage to the king of all mustards, Grey Poupon(below left). It had different styles of jars and containers from over the two plus centuries Grey Poupon has been in existence. Even though the Grey Poupon name is gone from France, it is still a strong identifiable brand in the U.S.

Some of the more historical exhibits at the National Mustard Museum included a large collection of antique mustard seed tins from the 19th and early 20th centuries (above right). This was how a lot of people made their own mustard years ago before prepared mustard became available en masse. I wouldn't have the faintest idea how to make prepared mustard from seeds, but it appears it must have been a popular way to do it given the amount of mustard seed tins on display.

Toward the back of the museum was a small theater that had a short film on the history of mustard. I wasn't about to sit there through the whole presentation, but there were more displays from mustards from around the world. This particular display (below left) had mustards from China, India, Russia and New Zealand. If there is a mustard made any where in the world, the National Mustard Museum has it on display.

Before going back upstairs, I had to take a look at some of the more wacky items on display in the Mustard Museum. This picture (above right) is a full-sized costume of a mustard container. I could almost imagine how uncomfortable wearing that mustard bottle suit really was.

And before leaving the National Mustard Museum, I had to stock up on some mustards that they had to offer in the gift shop. I picked up a bottle of Bertman's Ball Park Mustard, out of the Cleveland area. We went to see a game in Cleveland a few years ago and I remember that the hot dogs absolutely sucked, but the Bertman's Ball Park Mustard was very good. I also picked up a jar of Weber's horseradish mustard from Buffalo, NY on the recommendation of one of the ladies in the gift shop. I've had the Silver Spring brand of horseradish mustard before and it was OK. But when I asked the lady about horseradish mustard in general, she didn't hesitate. "Weber's is the best horseradish mustard," she said. "Great on brats, great on beef. It's super in homemade potato salad, too. You get both the taste of yellow mustard and the taste of the horseradish." (I've since tried it - it's pretty basic mustard, if you ask me. I didn't get much of a horseradish taste to it at all.)

I also picked up a jar of Maui Onion mustard from Hawaiian Plantations in Hawaii, really for no special reason other than it was Hawaiian mustard and we really enjoyed our time in Hawaii last year. And finally, I knew that we were getting low on good ol' regular yellow mustard so I got a large bottle of Koops'mustard to take home. Koops' is, basically, the official mustard of the state of Wisconsin.

While the National Mustard Museum might not be a place that most people would stop just to see all the mustards on display, it combines a sense of humor with a good grasp of history on something as mundane as mustard. It's worth the trip at least once to go in and look around for a half-hour or so, and to pick up something in the gift shop. There's a lot more to see than just the pictures I've included in this entry. The National Mustard Museum is a slice of Americana that is truly one of a kind.

Claddagh (pronounced "CLAW-duh) Irish Pubs are a chain of upscale authentic Irish pubs with 15 locations throughout the Midwest. About four years ago, I had a brief entry on Road Tips about the original Claddagh in downtown Indianapolis (see that entry here). I've had beers at a couple three Claddagh's during my travels and had always meant to eat at one, but had never gotten around to do so even though I've certainly had the opportunity to do so. It was a cold evening in Madison and I didn't feel like venturing far from the hotel that evening. The Claddagh Irish Pub was a short journey from my hotel and I figured some good ol' Irish comfort food would be in order that evening.

One of the big reasons the Claddagh pubs appear to be authentic Irish pubs is that they were started by an Irishman and an American who lived in Ireland for a time. Kevin Blair was an Cleveland-area native who worked for a number of years for the Taco Bell corporation when it was owned by Pepsi. He was hired in the mid-90's to go to work at the Supermacs fast food chain in Ireland. During Blair's stay in Ireland, he loved the feel of the Irish pubs and the many friends that he met while frequenting those pubs. The Irish have a term - craic (pronounced "crack") that describes a place that is fun, lively and friendly. Blair decided that the United States needed authentic Irish pubs with "craic".

Blair talked Supermacs chairman Patrick McDonagh to help him start a chain of upscale Irish pubs in the Midwestern United States. In 2001, the first Claddagh Irish Pub opened in Indianapolis. Both Blair and McDonagh were looking at aggressive growth during the first few years growing the chain to nearly 20 locations. However, like most partnerships, this one went sour with McDonagh withholding funds to keep the company from expanding while trying to force Blair to sell his shares. McDonagh had already invested over $20 million dollars into the Claddagh chain and wasn't willing to invest more money for expansion. Lawsuits and court dates ensued and the chain eventually declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. McDonagh's CDG Acquisitions group came in and bought the assets for $10 million dollars in 2008, about an estimated third of the value of the Claddagh chain.

By the way, the Claddagh Irish Pubs get their name from a small fishing village - Claddagh - that was legendary for the friendliness of the people who lived there. Many writers lived in Claddagh over the years (Claddagh is now part of Galway, Ireland - home to Pat McDonagh) and they wrote about the hospitality they received from the townspeople during their stay.

Each Claddagh Irish Pub has a dining area, a bar and a handful of small rooms that feature overstuffed chairs giving the place sort of a cozy feel, allowing patrons to sit down with friends in a comfortable setting and enjoy a Guinness or a Jameson whiskey. The dark wood walls and broad-beamed ceilings give Claddagh pubs an authentic Irish pub look.

I rolled into the parking lot of the Greenway Station shopping center in Middleton where the Claddagh is located (see map) around 7:30 p.m. The Claddagh is located next to Cheeseburger in Paradise, the Jimmy Buffett-owned chain of upscale burger joints (click here to see my entry on Cheeseburger in Paradise) and the parking lot in front of the businesses were full of cars. I was able to find a spot and I went in to get a seat at the bar.

The first thing I noticed behind the bar at the Claddagh was where there should have been bottles of different types of liquor, there were nothing but bottles of Jameson whiskey. Yes, I was definitely in an Irish pub! The bartender came over and asked if I wanted a menu. I got a Smithwick's as I perused through the selection they had at the Claddagh and glanced up at a football game and a hockey match they had on the flat panel televisions behind the bar.

Claddagh Irish Pubs have a wide selection of authentic Irish food including Shepherd's Pie, fish and chips, corned beef and cabbage, and Irish beef stew. They also have some American-based foods with an Irish twist such as the Guinness barbecued ribs made with a Guinness bar barbecue sauce, the Jameson burger that's topped with a Jameson sauce, along with the normal staples - steaks, chicken and a couple of pasta dishes.

I needed a "stick-to-my-ribs" dinner as it was cold and I was having trouble warming up. I thought about the Chicken Kildare - a garlic encrusted chicken breast filled with spinach, mushrooms and Irish rasher (a type of Irish bacon). The bangers and champ sounded good, too - Irish sausages served over Irish champ (baked potatoes) and topped with an onion gravy. But what I ended up getting was the old fashioned meat loaf, topped with a sweet glaze and then served with mashed potatoes and gravy and a side of vegetables. For a starter - and to help warm me up - I got a cup of the Guinness onion soup, basically a French onion soup that is made with a Guinness beer stock.

I was seated next to a guy from Indianapolis who was in Madison on business and we got to talking. He was a really nice guy, in his mid-to-late 30's, I'm guessing. He said, "We've got three Claddagh's in the Indy area. When I go on the road to Columbus, Cleveland or Cincinnati I always go to the Claddagh's there. It's like a home away from home." He said this was his first trip to Madison and he was surprised to find a Claddagh near his hotel. Some people like that familiarity with their restaurants, I would rather explore. Although, I have to admit that it's getting tiresome to find new and exciting places in some locations.

The Guinness onion soup was very good - a large crouton was on top along with an ample amount of Swiss cheese. Large onion chunks were in the broth that had a hint of a taste of Guinness to it. Actually, a bowl of the soup alone would have been a good meal.

The bartender brought out my plate to me and I sort of looked at it funny. It certainly didn't look like meat loaf to me - and it wasn't. It was the Irish beef stew. It looked very good, but it wasn't what I ordered. I got the bartender's attention and pointed out that I think I got the wrong meal. He said, "You had the beef stew, right?" I said, no, I had the meat loaf. "Ah! Yes, the meat loaf!" He said he'd get me the right meal straight away. That's the problem with people who don't write down your order - they space out from the time they take your order and then enter it into the system. But he did give me a free beer for waiting.

And the wait was worth it. I was served two large slices of meat loaf that had a nice smoky glaze on top the slices. There was a little bit of a heavy beef gravy on the slices of meat loaf, but the mashed potatoes were swimming in the gravy - just as I like it. The vegetables were a medley of broccoli, cauliflower and carrott slices.

Everything was very good - the meat loaf was flavorful and hearty, the mashed potatoes were real and the rich, thick gravy was a great compliment to the meat and potatoes. The vegetables were also cooked perfectly with a little bit of a crunch with each bite. The meal was exactly what I was looking for - generous portions of good ol' comfort food on a cold late fall evening.

The guy from Indy next to me had the Shepherd's pie. "I've tried the meat loaf before," he said. "I like it, but I think these guys make about the best Shepherd's pie I've ever had in the States."

After I finished what I could of the meal, I sat at the bar savoring my meal, watching the football game and enjoying one more Smithwick's. The guy from Indy had polished off his Shepherd's pie and had ordered the bread pudding for dessert. On the menu, the bread pudding comes under the heading of "split to share" desserts. And it was huge, easily covering an 8" dessert plate. And this guy was going to eat the whole thing! And he did! I said, "Jesus, buddy! You need to watch it! I was your size one time and when I started traveling on the road that's when I started to gain weight. When you have a company credit card and you're in a city far from home, it's not hard to over-indulge."

He said, "Oh, I know it. I've gained 15 pounds over the past couple of years. This (pointing at the bread pudding) doesn't help, but it's so darned good that I have to indulge myself every once in a while."

I'm glad I finally got to try the food at one after stopping in for just the beer on my previous visits. The meat loaf was very good, the portions were generous, the Smithwick's was great (any place that has Smithwick's on tap is OK by me) and the service - other than screwing up my order - was adequate. There are Claddagh Irish Pubs in four of the cities that I travel to and now that I know that the food is very good, I'll go back at some point when I just need the feel of some comfort food in my tummy.

For over 40 years, the Nitty Gritty has been known as not only a great gathering place for fans before and after U of Wisconsin football or basketball games, but they also pride themselves as being THE destination in Madison for birthdays and other celebrations.

The Nitty Gritty was founded by Marsh Shapiro (right), a Madison native who was also a local television personality. The Nitty Gritty first started out as a little neighborhood bar with picnic tables for seating. In the early 70's, Shapiro began to book musical acts into his little place - primarily blues acts such as B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters and Bonnie Raitt. The Nitty Gritty would continue to showcase a number of national acts until 1974.

The Nitty Gritty was also infamous as being a place in which the counter-culture crowd would hang out. Numerous protests against the Vietnam War were staged outside the Nitty Gritty with tear gas cannisters sometimes popping against the side of the building.

However, the Nitty Gritty is part of an even more sinister footnote in history. On August 24, 1970, a large bomb was detonated on the University of Wisconsin campus damaging dozens of buildings and killing a U of W professor. It was at the Nitty Gritty that the four conspirators planned the bombing of Sterling Hall - a research facility on campus targeted because of the ongoing research work toward the war effort going on inside. The bombing literally ended all radical anti-war movements in the U.S. and many of the Vietnam War demonstrations in Madison lost their emotional momentum after the blast.

In the mid 80's, Shapiro sensed a change in attitudes of patrons and students at the U of Wisconsin and re-invented the Nitty Gritty as "Madison's Official Birthday Bar." Shapiro claims there have been over 400,000 birthdays celebrated at the Nitty Gritty over the past 25 years. In fact, when we stopped in to the Nitty Gritty just before noon that one Saturday, we were asked by the hostess if we were part of the birthday party going on up stairs.

A few years ago, Shapiro and his wife, Susan, opened a second Nitty Gritty location in suburban Middleton (see map). In 2009, Shapiro semi-retired from the business and turned over ownership and day-to-day operations of the Madison location to his son-in-law, Lee Pier, and Nitty Gritty assistant manager Eric Suemnicht. Shapiro, his wife, Pier and Suemnicht all own the Middleton location, however, Shapiro is looking to sell that to Pier and Suemnicht at some point in the near future.

We had parked down the street and walked up to the corner of Frances and Johnson to the Nitty Gritty (see map). There are two dining areas on the main level of the Nitty Gritty. We decided to sit in the bar area with a number of dark wood booths lining the walls and a large square shaped bar in the middle. A number of flat panel televisions were tuned to the World Cup. We were given menus and decided that it wasn't too early to get a beer. To my delight, the Nitty Gritty had Capital Supper Club beer - suddenly my favorite summertime beer. Cindy got her old stand-by, a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

The walls of the Nitty Gritty are lined with picture upon picture of Marsh Shapiro with politicians, sports figures, broadcasters and other celebrities. It reminded me somewhat of the pictures on the walls around Blueberry Hill in St. Louis. Cindy said, "This guy must be pretty proud of himself.

Each day at the Nitty Gritty they feature a burger normally not found on their regular menu. That day they featured a natural, dry-aged grass-fed burger grown from beef from a Wisconsin farm - Fountain Prairie Farms. Other burgers that are featured include a "Pepper and Egg Burger" - a green pepper and egg top that one; the "Corny Burger" - topped with a corn salsa and pepper jack cheese; the "Parisian" - a burger topped with bleu cheese crumbles, a marinated red onion and served on a crossaint; and the "Wisconsin Brandy Burger" - topped with Wisconsin cheddar cheese, brandy marinated onions and a homemade mayonaisse. The Nitty Gritty features over 20 different burgers on their "Burger of the Day" list each month. However, the Fountain Priaire Farms burger is always featured on Saturday.

In addition to their featured burgers, the Nitty Gritty has their famous "Gritty burger" - a 6 oz burger topped with their homemade "Gritty" super-secret sauce what has been described as being a sour cream base. They also have a Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese burger, a "Pretzel Bender" burger that is served on a pretzel bun with pretzel mustard and onion rings on top, and something called the "Four Alarm Burger" - a burger topped with pepper jack cheese, jalapenos, hot sauce and jalapeno pepper bacon. I almost went with that, but remembered that we were traveling.

Also, the Nitty Gritty features a number of other items such as salads, veggie and salmon burgers, a number of variations of grilled chicken sandwiches, other sandwiches including a reuben and an Italian melt sandwich that sounded great, as well as the usual bar fare appetizers.

Cindy asked our waitress about the featured burger, the grass-fed beef burger. She said, "The beef is really lean, but it's very flavorful. I like it a lot." She said it was topped with their onion straws. Cindy ordered up one of those. She also ordered a side of fries to go with the burger. The girl said, "Our burgers are usually cooked medium-well, unless you specify." Cindy said that was fine with her. "Gritty sauce" also comes on the side with the french fries.

I hemmed and hawed for a moment going back and forth between the featured burger, the "Four Alarm Burger" and the "Roasted Garlic Burger" - topped with roasted garlic and onion straws. I finally decided upon the featured burger, medium. I decided against the fries or any of the other sides they had to offer.

After a while, our burgers came out and I had fries in my basket. When I reminded the waitress that I hadn't ordered fries she said, "Oh, that's right. Well, we won't charge you for them." (They'll take two bucks off the price of the burger without a side.)

I could immediately see they were severely overcooked. My "medium" burger were more well-done than anything. The life had been cooked completely out of both of them. I wondered if it was because of the natural beef having less fat content in it than a regular "Gritty burger". But it was charred and lifeless with no discernable taste whatsoever.

As I was trying to gag down my burger, I felt something funny in my mouth. I knew it was something wrong. I reached into my mouth - yes, I know, bad manners at a public restaurant - and pulled out a long hair with a piece of beef dangling from it. Cindy about lost it on the spot. She went, "Eee-yew!! Yuck!!"

I called the waitress over and I pulled up the hair with the dangling piece of beef. She said, "Oh, my God! I'm so sorry. Let me get you another burger right away."

I said, "Hey, tell the cook to make it medium-rare this time. And without the hair, if he could."

She said, "I'll see to it."

I ate some of Cindy's fries as I waited for my burger. Honestly, I was losing my appetite the more I sat there and thought about pulling a long hair out of my mouth with a piece of overcooked hamburger dangling at the end. But I will say the "Gritty sauce" was a nice condiment to dip the fries in.

When the waitress brought out my second burger, she told me, "We're not going to charge you for the burger, sir." Then she stopped and winced and said, "Oh, and he gave you fries again! I'm sorry!"

I'll bet if I pitched a fit, I probably wouldn't have had to pay for either of our burgers or fries.

And I probably should have - this burger was as equally overcooked as the first one and Cindy's. I had a couple bites and gave up. The waitress came over to check on us and I said, "Quite honestly, you can take this away. This was a horrible burger and I've clearly lost my appetite." She wordlessly picked up the baskets and took them away.

The waitress brought back the bill and she had, indeed, taken off the one burger. I paid in cash and still gave her a five dollar tip because she was pretty attentive and did take care of us when we needed another beer.

The Nitty Gritty's natural burger was just horrible. One of the worst burgers I've ever tried in a restaurant. Now, I may have to go back there and try just a regular "Gritty burger" to see if it was an anomoly. I'm hoping that it was, but there was just something sort of schlocky about the whole place. It sort of reminded me of a harder-edged Happy Joe's with a horrible burger instead of a horrible pizza. But I will say my first experience at Nitty Gritty was not very good. But I'm willing to give them a second chance at some point.

(Update - I've been back. Got a Swiss cheese burger. Thankfully, no hair in the burger this time and it still wasn't all that great.)

I was visiting the head of the audio department at American TV in Madison earlier this summer and asked him out for lunch. He gave me two options - one, kind of a dive bar that had lunch specials; or two, a place across the Beltway expressway from the main American TV store called Bonfyre American Grille (see map). "It's a little more upscale," he told me as he climbed in my car. I said upscale was fine with me.

Initially, I thought it was the same place as Axel's Bonfire, a place I've written about here and herebased out of the Twin Cities. But after looking at how Bonfyre spells the name with a "y" instead of an "i", I figured out they weren't the same. But quite honestly, there were a ton of similarities between the two.

Actually, I wouldn't call Bonfyre as much upscale as much as I'd call it American contemporary, very similar to Axel's Bonfire in Minnesota where they cook the food over open flame. Located in the Arbor Gate Center, it's quickly become one of the hotter spots to eat in Madison. Parking at peak times can be a little rough - we drove around for about three minutes looking for a space to open up during the height of the lunch rush.

Bonfyre American Grille's owner is Alfredo Teuschler, a local restaurateur who also owns the upscale Eno Vino wine bar and restaurant. Teuschler used to own a Houlihan's franchise on the west end of town and was a co-owner in the elegant Cloud 9 when it was open in Madison. Teuschler opened Bonfyre in the latter part of 2009 and it has been one of the more welcome additions on an already crowded restaurant scene in Madison.

The hostess took us to our table located near the front window of the restaurant that had a not so nice view of the parking lot and the Beltway beyond. We took a look at the lunch menus and discussed ever so briefly about getting a Capital Supper Club beer for lunch. The American TV guy has also fallen in love with Capital beers. The Capital Supper Club is suddenly my favorite summertime beer. It has a taste that is not all that far away from the old Leinenkugel Northwoods Lager that I loved so much when it was available. But after coming to the realization that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to go back to talk to staffers and other upper management at American TV with beer on our breaths, we reluctantly passed on getting a cold one with lunch.

The lunch menu at Bonfyre isn't much different from the dinner menu in terms of selection. The main difference between the two are the combinations offered during the lunch portion of the day. For between $9 and $12 dollars you get your choice of a variety of half-sandwiches, chicken entrees, jambalaya, grilled shrimp and other items along with a salad or a cup of soup. A number of the items are full entrees on the dinner menu.

One thing Bonfyre did have was fish tacos. Yep, good ol' grilled fish tacos topped with cabbage, a creamy chipotle dressing with pico de gallo and refried beans served on the side. I know I'm getting sort of boring with the fish taco thing, but I'm on some sort of a personal quest to find great fish tacos - sort of the same way that I always get sausage, pepperoni and mushroom on my pizza when I find a new pizza place. I need to have some sort of a measuring stick when it comes to the things I'm eating. I ended up ordering the fish tacos combo with a salad.

My guest ordered the jambalaya combo for lunch, however he asked if he could get a wedge salad instead of a regular salad. The waitress said, "Sure! There would be a $2.00 upcharge, but we can make it happen."

"Uh, hang on a second," I said as I stopped her from walking away. "Change mine to a wedge salad, as well."

Thankfully, the wedge salads were small - much smaller than what you'd find with a regular wedge salad. Actually, I didn't know if that was their regular wedge salad or a lunch time size. But it was very manageable in size. And the homemade creamy blue cheese dressing was very good. The blue cheese chunks were huge and very forward in taste. I wondered if they were using Maytag Blue Cheese in the dressing.

When the waitress came back to check on us, I asked her if they used Maytag Blue Cheese in their dressing. She said she didn't know, but she would find out. A couple moments later, she came back and said, "I asked the chef if it was Maytag Blue Cheese in the dressing and he said, 'Absolutely!' " She said one of their signature appetizers is the homemade potato chips topped with Maytag blue and jalapeno jack cheeses.

I commenced to tell the waitress and my guest that I grew up in Newton, IA - home of the Maytag Dairy Farmand Maytag Blue Cheese. About how they used to sentence every fifth grade class in the Newton Community School District with tours of the facility and how bad it smelled. My guest was laughing and he said, "Well, yeah! It's cultured and moldy cheese! It was bound to smell horrible." I told them that it was a good 20 years after that before I began to like blue cheese.

Our entrees came out not long after and I had a couple of large fish tacos filled with a grilled white fish with a cabbage mix and the chipotle cream sauce. And I will say they were very, very good. The fish was fresh, light and had a nice charred taste to it. The chipotle cream sauce added a little subtle kick to the tacos.

My guest's jambalaya was interesting looking - not quite the jambalaya I've seen, but more of a rice dish with a tomato-based sauce and five or six large grilled shrimp placed on top. He said it was good, however, and made a large dent into it before declaring himself rather full.

A manager from Bonfyre came over and asked us, "Which one of you is from Newton, IA?" I told him I was and he said that he had actually toured the Maytag Dairy Farm a few years ago. I quickly told him the story of being a 10-year-old going through the dairy and the being exposed to the cheese vats and how horrible it smelled. He said, "That's sort of weird that they'd make little kids go through the dairy. Yeah, it smells pretty horrific in that vat room. I can imagine that a little kid would probably be turned off with blue cheese if they smelled it during the processing."

I thought Bonfyre was pretty good. My fish tacos were above average, I did like the wedge salad and the service was good, as well. It was a very pleasant experience and I thought, overall, Bonfyre was a very good, dynamic restaurant. It's nice to have another option for dinner in Madison and Bonfyre is not far from the core of dealers that I call on in the city. I was impressed.

I'd been promising Cindy to take her up to Madison one Saturday for the Madison Farmers Market - officially known as the Dane County Farmers Market - that they have around the Capitol Square in downtown Madison. We first went to the farmer's market there a number of years ago and we were blown away at what they had to offer in terms of fresh produce, meats, flowers, plants and other homegrown items at the market. We like going to farmers markets when we travel around and the one in Madison is one of the biggest.

The Dane County Farmers Market has been around for nearly 40 years and today boasts over 150 vendors on site nearly every Saturday, However, there is a seasonal rotation of nearly 300 vendors who have signed up for space along the square. There is a smaller farmer's market on Wednesday's, but the one on Saturday also features street musicians, a craft and arts area down State Street, and the grounds of the State Capitol are reserved for non-profit, political or public information booths.

Parking at one of the parking ramps off the north side of the Capitol grounds, we immediately were stunned at the number of people already at the market before 9 a.m. I mean, the sidewalk was just jammed with people. We joined the slow moving group of people - walking in a counter-clockwise direction - and began to just sort of see what there was to offer at the Madison Farmers Market. By the way, one of the best things about the farmers market around Capitol Square - no dogs allowed! They continue to allow dogs at the farmers market in Davenport and when it gets crowded, you're always running into people with dogs on a leash darting here and there. It gets to be too much sometimes. Not having any dogs in Madison helped the flow. A little bit.

Fresh-cut flowers were big at the farmers market, as they are at nearly every farmers market we've been to. There were a number of booths that featured late spring, early summer blooming flowers that would look good on any table, full of color and fragrance. I asked Cindy if she wanted on of the bouquets, but she declined. "We don't have anything to put them in and they'll need water long before we get home." (Madison is about a two and a half hour drive for us.)

As I said earlier, everything at the Madison Farmers Market is locally grown. The one back home in Davenport allows for booth vendors to buy produce from wholesale suppliers and sell them like they'd grown them themselves. (We usually stay away from those guys.) At the farmers market in Madison, they have a strict "no resale" policy for the vendors. It was amazing to us the amount of produce these vendors had to offer so early in the growing season.

There were also a lot of organic produce vendors at the farmers market, pleasing Cindy to no end. The couple in the picture above right was selling organic mushrooms. The guy looked like he could also be growing the hallucinogenic kind of mushroom.

You can't have a farmers market in Wisconsin without cheese. A number of cheese vendors were set up around the Capitol square. A couple of the vendors were Wisconsin Master Cheesemakers, a program that requires cheesemakers to go through a rigorous training course through the University of Wisconsin to learn the fine art of making cheese. Only 44 Master Cheesemakers have graduated from the program since its inception in 1994.

There were tons of baked goods at the Madison Farmers Market, as well. One vendor touted his cinnamon rolls as being the best in the world. Of course, being a cinnamon roll aficionado, I had to see if it was true. It was far from the best cinnamon roll I'd ever had. It was hard and difficult to chew. In fact, I almost went back to complain, but what good would that do.

This young lady in the picture on the left is from Stella's Bakery, a well-known local bakery that is famous for their hot and spicy cheese bread. We had a slice of it and it was, well, hot and spicy. Thankfully, other vendors had bottles of water and we definitely needed one to help cool off our mouths after a slice of bread from Stella's. Stella's was very busy both times we passed by, stopping the second time for the slice of bread. This girl was probably happy that she was getting a little bit of a breather before helping the next customer.

A few vendors were into showing off gigantic produce. The asparagus on the upper left was some of the largest asparagus I've ever seen. I asked Cindy if she wanted any and she said, "Oh, good God, no. Asparagus that size is tough to cook properly. I like my asparagus thin and much smaller."

The picture on the above right is rhubarb that was well over two feet in length. I've never been a big rhubarb fan, but Cindy said this rhubarb was probably inedible because it was so large and probably too sour in taste. I don't know anything about rhubarb, so I'll have to take her word for that.

As I said, all along the Capitol square were a number of musicians playing for the crowds that warm Saturday morning. There was a South American pan-flute band, two guys playing an acoustic guitar and upright bass, and these two girls (above left) who were drawing a crowd listening to them play traditional Irish folk music on their violins. From time to time, brass ensembles from the University of Wisconsin's school of music will gather to play songs during the farmers market. The most interesting group, however, was the bunch of old ladies - the Raging Grannies - singing protest and political songs (left leaning - it's Madison, of course) on the Capitol green.

When we first went to the farmers market in Madison a number of years ago, we were sort of surprised with the amount of meat vendors around the square. They had everything from steaks to chicken to sausage to jerky - whatever could be raised and butchered on a farm, it was available at the Madison Farmers Market. That was sort of revolutionary to see people selling meat at a farmers market. These days, however, nearly every farmers market we visit has at least a couple vendors that sell farm raised meat, and usually organic meat with no additives or without shooting the cattle full of hormones and the chickens full of steroids. What surprised us about the farmers market in Madison was that there were only a couple meat vendors around the square this time.

It was at Madison's farmers market that we first were exposed to the great meat from Weber's in Cuba City, WI. One of the Weber sons eventually opened up a butcher shop in Bettendorf, about a 10 minute drive from our house and we always used to go over there to get our steaks, pork chops and specialty meats. Unfortunately, they closed their doors last year. They did have a location in Geneseo, IL, about a half-hour away, but we never go over there to get meat.

Cindy was on the look out for plants and flowers while we were at the Madison Farmers Market and we found a handful of vendors that had greenhouses in the Madison area that were selling perennials. Cindy wanted to plant some dahlias in our yard and we found a couple of real nice ones to take home with us.

And even though we have two dozen rose bushes, I always have to stop and see if there's anything we can't absolutely live without. Fortunately, we didn't find anything new or unique from this particular rose vendor.

But probably the best place we stopped at was a booth for The Flower Factory, located south of Madison near the town of Stoughton. They had a large number of perennial flowers and plants on display for sale. In fact, we got about halfway around the square and Cindy said, "You know, I want to go back to that one booth and get some of those flowering perennials for the berm." Well, when we got back there, the ones she wanted were sold out. She asked the one of the ladies working the farmers market if they had a greenhouse close-by. It was about 10 miles south of Madison, so later on after lunch we took a trip out there and I'm glad we did. They had the largest selection of native wild flowers, hostas, ornamental grasses and perennials I'd ever seen in one spot. That was a $100 bill by the time we got out of there. But I'd rather spend that kind of money on perennials than annuals.

The Wisconsin State Capitol building is one of the most picturesque and majestic buildings you'd find anywhere. Being somewhat of a geography geek, I like to seek out the state capitol buildings when I go to cities that are the capitals of their respective states. Iowa's State Capitol building is pretty impressive, but the huge rotunda on the Wisconsin State Capitol it probably its most impressive feature. Situated on a hill in the smack center of the downtown area, it's always neat to drive toward the downtown area and seeing the huge building off in the distance. It reminds me a lot of the Missouri State Capitol as far as the powerful visual impact the building has when you first see it from a distance.

The Capitol building is open for people to use their public bathrooms during the farmers market, that is if you can find your way through the maze of hallways to find them. I was talking with one gentleman who was standing near me as I was getting the picture of the inside of the rotunda (above right) and he was telling us of an observation deck that you could go up to. I went over to the information desk in the rotunda and asked the young guy about that deck. He said, "You go down the North hallway and take a left to go to the elevator. Go up to the 4th floor, then up a couple flights of steps and you're there." After gathering up Cindy, we went up to the deck. Actually, we shared the elevator with one of the Capitol security guards - dressed very casually in a polo shirt with a logo on the front and a pair of khaki pants - and he was on his way up to the observation deck to work a shift up there. He told us that only part of the deck was open. "About a third of it," he said, explaining they were doing some restoration work to part of the outside of the rotunda. The picture on the right is looking Northeast along Washington St.

We had paid for the dahlias and the vendor kept them for us so we could continue to look around. When we got back to pick them up, Cindy was remarking that the Madison Farmer's Market was "almost overwhelming." She exclaimed, "There's almost too many people! I don't remember this farmers market being this choked with people."

The vendor told us, "Yeah, it's gotten over-run over the past few years. A lot of people have come in and set up shop and have squeezed a lot of the older vendors out. The people who run the farmers market think bigger is better and we don't necessarily believe that."

He was telling us about another farmer's market on the west side of Madison where he has a second booth. "And that booth does twice the amount of business that we do here. It's not as crowded and our people get a chance to interact with people more out there than down here, so we're actually selling much more. Here, we're always getting tugged at and pulled away and people are generally more rude here than at the other place."

Cindy was right - the Madison/Dane County Farmers Market almost WAS too overwhelming. Even though the throng of people was orderly, they moved too slow around the square and there was a lot of jostling and pushing at times. Cindy said, "I didn't like the farmers market as much as I did in the past. It's just gotten too big."

While it was colorful and vibrant, the Madison Farmers Market might have grown too large to give it the quaint feel that we once experienced. Cindy agreed with me that we wouldn't have to take a special trip to go to Madison for their farmers market anytime soon.

The Essen Haus is one of the more highly regarded German restaurants in the Midwest. Since 1983, the restaurant has served up some of the finest German fare along with American favorites. They feature nearly 20 German beers on tap and offer well over 200 other types of bottled beer from all over the world. I took one of my dealers out to dinner there on a recent trip to Madison. It had been years since I'd last been in the Essen Haus and I was really looking forward to it.

Local entrepreneur Bob Worm opened the Essen Haus in September 1983 - just in time for their first Oktoberfest celebration. The building in which the Essen Haus is located dates back to the early 1860's in a historic area in downtown Madison known as the Old Settlement neighborhood. Part of the building contained the Germania Hotel which was said to house German immigrants as they arrived in Wisconsin.

In the 40's and 50's, the very popular Hoffman House - which, at the time, was THE fine dining restaurant in Madison - was in the building in which the Essen Haus is in today. Seven Hoffman brothers ended up running a total of 18 Hoffman House restaurants in Wisconsin, Northern Illinois and Minnesota. In the mid-70's, they sold the restaurants to Green Giant - the same Green Giant vegetable company - and Green Giant was, in turn, bought by Pillsbury. Pillsbury ended up selling off all the restaurants and the original Madison location was closed.

For a while, Hoffman House became the Wilson Street Dinner Theater, but that didn't go over all that well. Bob Worm came in and decided to put in an authentic German restaurant/beer hall complete with large tables for group and family-style eating. In addition to the Essen Haus, Worm also owns and operates the Ruby Marie Hotel next to the Essen Haus, as well as the adjoining Come Back In and The Up North Pub, two smaller pub-style places.

The Essen Haus is located on the Southeast side of the downtown area not far from Lake Monona (see map). There's a large parking lot behind the restaurant and it was nearly full from all the people in the establishments in and around the Essen Haus. The restaurant was pretty full, but we were able to get a table near the front of the restaurant on a step-up landing that provided a good view of the German band playing on the stage.

As we looked over our menus, we enjoyed the German Polka music provided by the Steve Meisner Band. People were dancing and the music was very good. And it wasn't all that loud, so we were able to carry on a conversation with no problem. Even with the ornamental dark wood trim throughout the place, it was easy to hear my guest talk from across the table.

Like I said, it had been years since I was in the restaurant and I forgot how large the main dining room at the Essen Haus. And there is an adjoining dining room to the side that can easily seat over 100 people. The Essen Haus is a popular place and has brisk business nearly every evening.

In addition to the Essen Haus being decorated in authentic German decor, the restaurant features one of the largest collections of ornamental beer steins in the U.S. They also have a shop of beer steins, glasses and "boots" called The Germania Collection that is located in the corner of the old Germania building. They also have porcelain figurines, decorative plates, nut crackers and other assorted items tied to German heritage.

Of course, we had to have beer. I ordered a Spaten lager. A LITER of Spaten lager. And another waitress brought out a basket with a couple large homemade, piping hot pretzels with a side of horseradish and this outrageously great German mustard. It was sort of mixture of sweetness, a sour flavor and some spiciness to the mustard. My guest told me, "I usually don't like mustard all that much, but I love this stuff!" I asked our waitress if any were available for sale and she said she didn't think so. But she did give me a small container of it before I left. (Even keeping it cool overnight, it had lost some of its taste sensation. It wasn't as good as when it was originally served.)

I was really torn between a number of items at the Essen Haus. From the Sauerbraten to their Huhner (chicken) Schnitzel, everything sounded so damn yummy. I'd gotten the Rahm (pork chop) Schnitzel on a prior visit and I was tempted to get that again. But this time I ended up ordering the Schweinelendchen in a Pfefferam Sauce - pork tips sauteed with mushrooms and onions, then topped with a spicy pepper cream sauce. I ordered spaetzle and red cabbage as my side. A small dinner salad came with the meal, but I was more interested in trying their liver dumpling soup. I got that as a substitute for my salad.

My guest was equally torn between a number of items. He said, "I usually get the sampler when I can't make up my mind (smoked Thuringer sausage, Schweine Braten and a smoked pork chop). Or I get the Rinder Rouladen (I almost got that - strips of beef wrapped around smoked bacon, mustard, onion, ground veal pork and a pickle, then topped with a mustard gravy). But I'm gonna go with something different tonight."

He ordered up the Weiner Schnitzel - breaded veal cutlets pan-fried in a butter/lemon sauce and served with a side of sauerkraut and German potatoes. "My wife likes the Weiner Schnitzel here," he said. "I've never had it, so I guess I'm gonna try it now."

My guest got a salad with ranch dressing and that was brought to my table along with my cup of liver dumpling soup. There was a nice large ball of ground liver in the cup - I'm not big on liver, period. But I do like liver dumpling soup. Go figure. And the Essen Haus' liver dumpling soup was very good. I made quick work of the soup and it wasn't long after I finished that our main entrees were brought to the table.

My Schweinelendenchen was absolutely fabulous. The pork tips were moist and tender. The taste of the pork hadn't been cooked out of it, either. The mushrooms were more prevalent in the sauce than the onions and they were very fresh, as well. And the sauce, well, it was just out of this world. It had a nice little spiciness to the taste and was very good when I dipped a piece of the rye bread into it.

My guest liked his Weiner Schnitzel. He said, "I normally don't get veal all that much, but my wife loves it. I've had bites of hers in the past and this is very good." There was a nice coating of breading over the veal, but not enough that it overpowered the taste of the meat.

In addition to regular German fare on the menu, the Essen Haus features prime rib on Thursday and Saturday, and fish on Wednesday and Fridays. They also have a number of steaks on their menu including a whisky peppercorn steak that my guest told me was "to die for". He said, "If you like the pepper sauce on your pork tips, you really need to try the whisky peppercorn steak." I'll have to try that on my next visit.

With a large German-heritage population in Wisconsin, I certainly do like the Germanic style beers that they brew in the handful of breweries around the state. But there are also some great German restaurants, as well, and the Essen Haus is one of the best in the state. Heck, it's one of the best in the Midwest. We had great service, great food, wonderful beer and listened to some pretty good German music. Everyone has a good time at the Essen Haus. It's no small wonder why it's packed nearly every day.

I get a little leery of restaurants who were voted as "the best" in local reader polls. There's a good chance the restaurant that won probably "stuffed" the ballot box. So when I found that Glass Nickel Pizza Co. had won the "best pizza" award in Madison for 2008, I approached my first visit there with a little trepidation. Would I think it was the best in Madison? I had to give it a try.

Glass Nickel Pizza was established in 1997 by two local Madison men - Brian Glassel and Tim Nicholson (hence, the "Glass Nickel" name). Glassel and Nicholson had both worked in pizza parlors since their teens. They met up at a pizza place they worked at and began to talk about the kind of a pizza they would like to make - with fresh ingredients, a vast variety of toppings and styles of pizza, and a commitment to consistent excellence.

Their first location quickly sprouted a second location in Madison. Today, there are seven Glass Nickel locations - four in the greater Madison area, one in Green Bay, one in Oshkosh, and one in western suburban Milwaukee. In addition to pizza, Glass Nickel Pizza Co. also has a variety of sandwiches, calzones, wings, salads and appetizers.

During a recent trip to Madison, I stayed on the west side of town. I was almost equidistant between the Madison - West Glass Nickel and the one in suburban Fitchburg. It was more of a direct route to the one in Fitchburg, so I went to that one (see map). I pulled up in front and suddenly realized that it was more of a take-out and delivery location. Oh, there were some booth-type tables in the small dining area. But it was definitely not conducive for a sit down meal. All right, that's fine. I'll get it to go. The hotel isn't that far away.

I walked in and could see a flurry a of activity in the kitchen. I went up to the counter and opened a small "to-go" menu to see what I wanted. Glass Nickel featured over 20 specialty pizzas as well as the ability to choose your own toppings. The first thing I noticed was the low prices on their pizza. A 10" (small) pizza began at $7.65 for a basic cheese pizza. Each topping was a buck more.

I decided to get a small Italian sausage, pepperoni and mushroom, the reference toppings for me to try a new pizza. They also had a number of different types of sauce to choose from. I almost got their spicy classic, but decided just to have their regular classic Italian red sauce. (Although their chunky marinara was tempting, as well.) Since this location was mainly carryout only, they didn't have any beer on the premises. That's OK, there was a convenience store near the hotel. I could stop there and get some beer to drink.

They told me my pizza would be ready in less than 15 minutes, so I sat in one of the booths looking over the menu. And less than 15 minutes later, one of the guys in the back brought out my pizza for me to take to the hotel. I stopped at the convenience store to get a "40" of Bud Light and got back to the hotel. The temperature of the pizza had cooled down a bit, so I popped a couple pieces in the microwave that I had in my room for a few seconds.

The toppings were definitely fresh and plentiful. The sausage on top were the big chunks, the pepperoni was spicy and the mushrooms were fresh cut. I liked the sauce and the amount of cheese on top. All in all, it was a very good pizza. For a pizza that was just a tad over $11.00, there was a lot of pizza to eat. I could only eat four slices (out of six) before I'd had enough. I had the other two pieces for breakfast the next day. It was still good warmed up. I was pleasantly surprised all the way around.

I was impressed with Glass Nickel's pizza. I don't like to take a pizza back to a hotel rather than enjoy it in house where it's always so much better when it comes piping hot out of the oven. But the boys at Glass Nickel definitely do a good pizza. I don't quite know if it's the best in Madison, but it was still very good. I can see why they've been named the "best pizza" in Madison. I'm sure they cook 'em fast and get them delivered to people's homes in a quick fashion. That's always a plus with many people who order pizza for delivery.

As we've rolled out products into the American TV stores this summer, I've had to go to Madison a couple more times for meetings and trainings along the way. Earlier this summer, I met my colleague, John Bevier, in Madison for another training session for one of the American stores there. The night before the training, we went out to dinner with Gary Lahmers, the head of American TV's audio department. Gary did a great job in suggesting the Tornado Steak House the last time we had dinner with him. This time, he suggested a unique restaurant in downtown Madison - a Scandinavian restaurant by the name of Restaurant Magnus. (see map).

Owned by the Berge brothers - Finn and Christopher; and Laura Jones, Restaurant Magnus is run by head chef, Nick Johnson. Restaurant Magnus had recently undergone a stunning transition. For years, the restaurant was known as a wonderful place to get South American food - tapas style. On June 1st, the restaurant became a Scandinavian restaurant with recipes culled from the Berge brother's upbringing just west of Madison. While it rankled many of the locals that loved the small plates of food, the new menu was a bold and forward nod to the heritage of the Berge's.

Gary and John were already seated in the very elegant, yet inviting, dining area when I rolled in. There's a large parking garage just to the west of the restaurant, but I was able to park on the street. Gary hasn't lived in Madison all that long, but one thing that he has already fallen in love with is one of my favorite breweries in the world - the Capital Brewery in nearby Middleton. He said, "This is some of the best beer I've ever had!" I told him that I'd been drinking Capital beers for nearly 20 years and I thought that it was the best a long time ago. I still think their Special Pilsner is difficult to beat. The only problem is that they had the Capital Wisconsin Amber and not the Special Pilsner. We took the Amber.

Gary is also a big fan of Aquavit, the strong Scandinavian liquor that is made out of potatoes. He ordered three small flute glasses of chilled Aquavit. I've had Aquavit before, but it had been years and years. I forgot what it tasted like. But Gary insisted, so I went along with him. While I can't say that it's my favorite, it was pretty smooth. I declined Gary's offer to have a third one with him after we slugged back the first two before dinner.

We looked through the menus and came up with some appetizers to try. We decided to get four things to try - raw Pacific oysters on the half-shell - a dozen that we'd share. We also got a Jarslberg cheese tart, something called a smoked gouda cheese parfait, and brined steak tartare with pumpernickel and truffle mustard. John said, "Jesus, I may not order any dinner tonight!"

And the appetizers were very good. I especially liked the steak tartare with the pumpernickel and truffle mustard. And for getting oysters in the middle of the upper Midwest, I'd have to say the oysters on the half shell were pretty damn tasty.

Even though Restaurant Magnus has a very extensive wine list, we decided to pass on wine for the evening. We focused more on the good Capital Amber beers that we were drinking. Plus after a couple of Aquavit's, John was starting to feel the alcohol coming on. He told me the next morning, "I'm glad we didn't have any wine because I'd be a bowl of Jello right now."

For dinner, all three of us weren't very adventurous. We all went with the same thing - the Cardamom grilled beef tenderloin with a blackberry mustard, truffle-cauliflower puree and spinach. I got mine rare, Gary and John ordered theirs medium rare. Gary gave me a look when I said I wanted mine rare and he said, "Oh, a European is in our midst!"

Since we'd gotten a shitload of appetizers, we passed on getting a dinner salad. We spent much of the time before we'd gotten our main entree in casual conversation. Gary had just bought a new house in Madison and was anxious to get his family moved out there from the East Coast. After living in Boston for a number of years, I asked how he liked Madison. He said, "It's small." Now, I have to put things in perspective. Madison is about the size of the Quad Cities, but has a lot more to offer. It's one of the more progressive cities - not only in the Midwest, but nationally. I suppose Madison is rather small for a guy who lived in Boston for years and years. I think of it as "the big city."

Our main entrees came out and we dug in. Mine was rare, all right. But it was damn good. Both John and Gary proclaimed their steaks as wonderful, as well. The tenderloin sat on the bed of the blackberry mustard, truffle-cauliflower puree and fresh spinach leaves. The presentation was excellent, the food as the same.

We ended up our meal by splitting a piece of blueberry cheesecake topped with a blueberry compote and a cherry coulis sauce. I had a couple bites and it was very good. It was all I could do to not order another piece for us.

We finished off the evening with each of us getting a Macallan 15 year Scotch. It was a great topper to a wonderful meal. One thing about it, Gary likes to party. He's an interesting and fun guy to be around.

Restaurant Magnus was a very pleasant surprise, to say the least. For a restaurant to make a complete and utter 180 degree change from South American cuisine to a Norwegian-based menu that relies upon locally grown food for its menu, that may be suicide for some. But Restaurant Magnus was able to pull it off. I'm sure they'll get the same kudos for this menu as they did for their last one.

(Update - Citing a downturn in the economy, Chris Berge closed Restaurant Magnus in December of 2010. Patronage at the restaurant had been slipping and Berge determined that he needed to serve 1200 diners in a week to break even. He was getting about 700 a week toward the end. Berge, who is an avid bicyclist, had planned to replace Restaurant Magnus with a "bike friendly" restaurant, but those plans were deep-sixed not long after the restaurant closed.)

During my convalescing from my hip replacement surgeries, our company signed a deal with American TV in Madison, WI to carry some Focal and Cambridge Audio products in their 15 stores. My colleague, John Bevier, who had a previous relationship with American TV's new buyer, Gary Lahmers, when Gary was one of the senior buyers for the now-defunct Tweeter stores, got the ball rolling and we got some products placed in their main store in Madison. John made plans to go to Madison to do some training and I thought that since I was going to be the ones calling on all the stores, I'd better go up and participate in the training, as well. This was the first long trip for me, even before I got my "official" release from my doctor.

On my way to Madison, I was in contact with John who said that Gary wanted to go out to dinner that evening with us. John, who was in a layover in Detroit, said that he didn't know where Gary wanted to go, but said he'd call me as soon as he found out after he landed in Madison. Along about 7:30 p.m., John called me and said, "Well, Gary also has a couple of other guys with him. And we're meeting at some place called the Tornado Steak House in downtown Madison." Well, I'd been coming to Madison for years and I'd never heard of the place before. But knowing Gary Lahmers' penchant for fine food, I'm sure it had to be good. I punched up OnStar and had them direct me to the Tornado Steak House.

I pulled up in front of the Tornado Steak House, just southwest of the Capitol Square in downtown Madison (see map). John was standing out front, talking on his phone to his wife while waiting for me to show up. John hadn't seen me since January of this year and I'd lost 45 pounds since then. He was absolutely blown away when he saw me. He said, "You are such a skinny son-of-a-bitch!" Obviously, I'm still not skinny, but 45 pounds lost is beginning to be noticeable.

We went inside the Tornado and looked around for Gary and the other guys that were there with him. The Tornado has a large bar area in the back - which was packed; and a pretty good sized dining area with dark lighting, white linen tablecloths and knotty pine hardwood walls. It was the quintessential Midwestern steak house.

We found Gary and the two other guys - Dan and Adrian from Sonos, a company that makes wireless whole-house solutions - at a big table in what would be the front corner of the dining room. The waitress handed us our menusand asked if we'd like something to drink. We all decided that wine was going to be the drink of choice, so Gary picked out an Oren Swift Papillon red blend to try.

Steak is the king at the Tornado and their signature steak is a 20 oz. bone-in tenderloin. They also have a 28 oz. ribeye on the bone, as well. But they also have just regular tenderloins, a strip steak and a t-bone steak on the menu. They also had a special that evening - a 10 oz. grass-fed tenderloin filet topped with a creamy peppercorn au poivre sauce, placed in a bed of grilled mushrooms. In addition to steak, the Tornado has seafood including salmon, walleye and Alaskan king crab; and they also have an interesting mix of wild game such as duck breast, a venison filet and rabbit.

And the Tornado is also known for their appetizers which include frog legs, Oysters Rockefeller, and something called the Seafood Tower that features fresh chilled seafood on a layered server. The Tornado also features an appetizer that I don't see very often in the states - Coquille Saint Jacques. I had Coquille (Co-KEEL) Saint Jacque on my first trip to Montreal in 2002. It consists of poached scallops or shrimp in a white wine sauce, then placed in a dish with a cream sauce and covered with a layer of mashed potatoes, then broiled quickly in the oven. Oh, it's very good, but - OH! - so filling.

We decided against getting appetizers because the steaks were so big. I knew I couldn't go for the 20 oz. bone-in filet, that would be too much food. So I went with the 10 oz special filet they had that evening. Gary said they had a tendency to under cook the steaks at the Tornado, but I still went ahead and ordered mine medium-rare. If they're going to err on one side or the other, I'd rather have them under cook the steak.

Gary and Adrian went with the bone-in tenderloin filet, while John also got the 10 oz special grass-fed filet. Dan ordered up the 16 oz. New York Strip. You get your choice of sides such as either a baked potato, hash browns or steak fries; or you can order asparagus, brussel sprouts or green beans. I went with asparagus. A dinner salad with balsamic vinaigrette comes with the meal.

I found the wine to be a little heavy, yet sort of flat and lifeless. And being the wine-head that he is, Gary, obviously, felt so, too. He determined the wine was probably too young to drink and asked the waitress to see the wine list again so he could get something else. The second wine he ordered, which I can't remember what it was, was much better than the Oren Swift blend.

The conversation while we had our salad was wide and varied. It turned out that Dan and I had probably met before as he had been an audio-video industry veteran for a number of years. We knew a lot of the same people and we exchanged stories about some of the more notorious people we'd worked with over the years. And getting together with the guys from Sonos also opened a door to some merchandising ideas where we could team Focal speakers with their little kiosk displays.

Our steaks came out and my special grass-fed filet with the au poivre sauce appeared in front of me. It was fabulous looking and I couldn't wait to get a fork and knife into it. Now, grass-fed beef is making a big comeback in some Midwestern restaurants. It's generally sort of tough, but this piece of meat was very tender and the au poivre sauce was a great complement to the taste. And Gary was right - the medium-rare was more rare than medium. I didn't mind it a bit.

But the hit at the table were the Tornado's signature 20 oz bone-in filet. Adrian, who hails from Massachusetts, was floored when the waitress set his steak down in front of him. Here's a picture - albeit somewhat blurry - that Adrian took on his cell phone of his steak. It was truly a large hunk of meat. While a lot of the 20 oz. listed is in the bone, there's a lot of meat to eat. Adrian was able to eat the whole thing. He said, "We just don't get good steaks like this back home."

Although the waitress tempted me with dessert, I passed on the last course. A couple of the guys did order up a couple things - a decadent chocolate cake dessert and a cheesecake covered in raspberries. I just sat back, let my steak digest and finished up the wonderful wine in my glass.

John and Dan split the check 50-50 so both companies weren't saddled with a $400 plus bill with tax. I thought it to be a little high priced for Madison, but it was still very good.

For as many times that I've been to Madison, I still find that I'm rather in the dark when it comes to some of the more fine dining establishments the town has to offer - especially downtown. I learned on this trip, however, that there is more than one very good steak house in downtown Madison. And the Tornado Steak House is one of them. I'm looking forward to going back and trying a couple more of them out with Gary in future trips to Madison.

I finally got around to trying Cheeseburger in Paradise on my last visit to Madison (see map). I've noticed that some of these have begun to pop up around the Midwest over the past couple of years. Cindy ate at one in the Chicago area last year and said it was OK. I thought I'd give it a try for lunch.

Cheeseburger in Paradise is a 39 location bar/restaurant chain owned by troubadour/rock star Jimmy Buffett. Named after his famous song, Cheeseburger in Paradise has a Caribbean motif and design inside the place. And, of course, Jimmy Buffett songs play on the sound system alternating with other contemporary and classic rock songs.

It was about 2 p.m. when I got to Cheeseburger in Paradise. I sat at the bar and got a menu from the bartender. There was one other guy at the bar having lunch and a couple three people scattered at other tables in the place.

In addition to burgers, they also feature sandwiches like a Jamaican jerk chicken sandwich, a fish sandwich with Mexican seasonings, and a Cuban Sandwich. Here's a guideline I always follow when it comes to Cuban Sandwiches - don't order Cuban Sandwiches in places other than Cuba or Little Havana in Miami. Once you've had a true Cuban sandwich, the ones that other places try to make are nowhere as good or as close to the real things.

They also had fish tacos on the menu. I'm a sucker for good fish tacos with fresh grilled fish on them. But I was there for the burger.

They had about 10 different burgers to choose from including a Baja Burger with sour cream, lettuce and jalapenos; a Blue Cheese Blast burger with melted blue cheese, grilled onions and topped with a pungent Asian mayonnaise; and the good ol' Bacon Cheeseburger.

I went with the very basic cheeseburger - the "Cheeseburger in Paradise" - a half pound burger topped with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a red onion. Pickles were served on the side. I also got an order of their french fries, but I almost got the sweet potato chips.

After about 15 minutes, my burger and fries came out. The burger was good, but nothing that set me off or would put it in my top 10. It was a typical chain restaurant burger, cooked with little emotion and sort of the "cookie-cutter" approach.

If I was in a town where I didn't know that there were better burger places around, then Cheeseburger in Paradise is a good choice for a burger. But with Dotty's and Blue Moon in the area, the burger at Cheeseburger in Paradise doesn't even come close to stacking up with those two.

(Update - Luby's, the parent company for Cheeseburger in Paradise, has been closing a number of these locations around the nation looking to put a new concept restaurant into those sites. The Madison-area location closed in the summer of 2014 and no announcement was forthcoming as to what would be taking its place.)

I was in Madison recently and took one of my dealers out for dinner at J.T. Whitney's, a brew pub on the southwest side of town (see map). J.T. Whitney's has been around since 1995 and they brew some pretty good beers to go along with some pretty good food.

It had been a long time since I'd been into J.T. Whitney's. My dealer's store is not far from the place and he suggested going over to have a couple beers and a sandwich, nothing fancy for dinner. I don't know if I'd ever had the food at a J.T. Whitney's, other than appetizers, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

J.T. Whitney's is owned by David Bookstaff, and the head brewmaster is Richard Becker. Actually, one of the original co-owners of J.T. Whitney's was my friend Paul Zach and his father, Skip, who also owned The Avenue Bar in Madison. (Skip passed away a few years ago and Paul is the owner/manager of The Avenue Bar.) Paul told me they sold off their interest in J.T. Whitney's a few years ago after the place got established.

Richard Becker continues a long heritage of brewers in his family that dates back to the late 1500's in Germany. His family owns the Mahrs Brau Brewery in Bamberg, Germany and an uncle runs it today. Through the years, the family's specialty was to make smoked ales. And preserving the family tradition, Richard Becker has made a number of smoked ales over the years. I have to admit that the J.T. Whitney smoked ales that I've tried in the past have been outstanding. I especially remember a Scotch Smoked Ale that I first had at the Great Taste of the Midwest Beer Festival a number of years ago.

We walked into J.T. Whitey's just before 8 p.m. on a weeknight. A band was setting up getting ready to play. A number of people where in the place, including a number of younger kids making a lot of noise while their parents ate and drank beer.

My guest and I bellied up to the bar and he was greeted by name by one of the bartenders. I said, "So, I guess you come here often."

He said sort of smiled and said, "I've been here a few times, yes."

My dealer told me he liked the place because all they sell is their own-brewed beer. No Miller Lite, no Corona, just the beer they brew. In fact, more than once we heard people asking for a name beer while we were seated there. "Sorry, we only serve what we make." I don't find many brewpubs like that.

We got food menus and the beer menu, and ordered up a couple of beers. My guest got the Badger Red and I got one of the Smoked Porters they had on tap. Now, I'm not a big fan of porter beers, but I have to say the Smoked Porter from J.T. Whitney's is just outstanding. It's light and superbly flavorful with a hint of the great smoked flavor I remember in their smoked beers.

We ordered up an appetizer of boneless chicken wings in a Buffalo/Ranch dressing. We sat and talked about things enjoying our beers until the appetizers came out a little while later. As they set the boneless chicken wings down, there were nine little pieces of boneless wings in the basket topped with this Ranch dressing with some Buffalo wing sauce mixed in. I was sort of disappointed and felt they were somewhat overpriced ($7.95) for what we got. But I didn't bitch.

We ended up getting a couple more beers and ordered our food. Even though J.T. Whitney's does have full dinner entrees, we went with sandwiches. My guest got the Reuben and I went with the French Dip sandwich topped with mushrooms and swiss cheese.

We finished our second beers as the sandwiches were brought out to us. My sandwich was OK, nothing special. In fact, the au jus sauce was very salty. But the meat was piled high and the mushrooms gave it a nice flavor.

My guest's Reuben looked very good - corned beef piled high on dark German rye bread topped with sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing. I sort of wished that I'd gotten that instead, but I've been on such a Reuben kick lately - mainly since I first saw this picture on the cover of the most recent issue of Bon Appetit magazine - that I didn't want to get burned out on them. I was satisfied with what I got.

We decided to take off just before the band got to playing, which was probably good. J.T. Whitney's has a lot of wood throughout the place and there were a lot of younger people in the place whooping it up. We were having trouble hearing each other even though we were seated next to one another. When the band started, we wouldn't have been able to hear each other at all.

Like all bars and restaurants in Madison, J.T. Whitney's is smoke free. That's certainly a plus when you go into a place for food. And even though the food at J.T. Whitney's is just a step above average, I have to say the beer is much better than the food. I may have to get a growler of the Smoked Porter the next time I go to Madison. But I'll pass on the boneless chicken wings.

(Update - JT Whitney's closed their doors in March of 2009. They have since been bought and replaced by a brewpub called Vintage Brewing Company. I still have not given that new place a try.)

State Street Brats is famous for their "red brats" - a grilled bratwurst, then split down the middle and served on a homemade bun. Red brats are different from their "white brat" counterparts as they are made with beef and grilled, while the white ones are made out of pork and boiled in beer. Both are very good.

Red brats were invented in the early 1930's by George Bishop. Bishop's beef brat was embraced by two young guys - Seymour "Shorty" Kayes and Walter "Lammy" Lamm - who were just starting their first restaurant on State Street in Madison, The Log Cabin. "Shorty" and "Lammy" are widely credited as bringing the Red brat to Madison.

In 1953, "Shorty" and "Lammy" moved their business to a larger building down State Street - the present day location of State Street Brats (see map) - and renamed it The Brathaus. In 1989, the Brathaus' name was changed to State Street Brats. And a lot of old Madison-ites still refer to the place as The Brathaus.

Present day owner Kelly Meuer (right) keeps up the tradition that "Shorty" and "Lammy" held dear to their hearts when they owned the business. State Street Brats is still a packed place before and after Wisconsin football games, and is always busy during lunch and on weekend nights.

Since State Street Brats is on the State Street pedestrian walkway (only buses and delivery trucks can use the street), there's no parking available immediately around the place. However, there's a parking garage off of Frances St. that is directly behind State Street Brats that's easy to get into and out of.

The interior of State Street Brats is dark in the day time, and full of kitsch, memorabilia and, of course, televisions. There are a booths and long tables to sit at on the main floor of the place. It's kind of fun to just grab a beer and look at the stuff they have on the wall.

The menu is pretty basic - brats, sandwiches, burgers, salads and some Mexican food. They have something like 15 beers on tap at any given time including a handful of seasonal beers brewed in Wisconsin. There's no wait staff at State Street Brats, so you order at the service counter at the bar.

It had been a couple years since I was last in State Street Brats, and a lot longer since I'd had food there. It wasn't quite as busy as I walked in just before the noon hour. I took a quick look at the menu and went and ordered a double red brat and a glass of Capital Brewery's Maibock beer. As I said, they grill the brats, slice them down the middle and then serve both of them on a homemade bun.

One of the bar guys brought my double red brat out to me in a basket. They have a condiment counter, but I opted for just some German mustard as not to kill the taste of the brat.

And it was very good. I don't know if I like them better than the pork or "white" brats they serve, but they're a unique taste - more like an all-beef hot dog. And with the cold Maibock, it was a great lunch.

Total bill for the double red brat and the beer was $10.75. Sort of expensive, but it was good. Still, just going to State Street Brats is worth it. There's a lot of history and tradition in the place and it's certainly not to be missed when you travel to Madison.

I don't know why I haven't written about Gino's in downtown Madison, WIbefore now. It's one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the Midwest.

Located on famous State Street in downtown Madison (see map), Gino's has been in business since the early 60's. Virginio "Gino" Gargano was a teen-aged Italian immigrant who came to the U.S. with his brothers on the advice of his uncle Carlo Caputo, a local store owner. Gino opened his restaurant on State Street just down from his uncle's store when he was just 21.

Gino's brothers, Peppino and Biagio,also opened restaurants - Peppino's on Capital Square in downtown Madison (see map), and Bellini's (formerly The Monastery) on East Washington Ave. (see map). Their children run those respective restaurants today.

According to the locals, Gino's is a local institution - long known as the restaurant where many married couples had dinner during their first date while going to the University of Wisconsin. The ground floor area of the restaurant is pretty much the same way as it was 40 years ago.

What is now the upstairs dining area was the living quarters of Gino when he first opened the restaurant. Gino once said that he "slept with his work" and there were times he didn't leave the building for days.

The last time we ate there was about a year ago after the Iowa/Wisconsin football game. We went there with Scott and Marcia Schroeder, and Dave and Pat Heusmann during our annual road trip for Iowa football. Given that Iowa won the game, we were in good spirits and decided to live it up for the evening. Cindy came up with the Gino's recommendation and we went with it.

Cindy and I had first eaten there a number of years ago during a weekend trip to Madison. Actually, we sort of just fell into the place, not knowing the reputation or history of Gino's. I had meatballs and pasta that first visit, and the meatballs were the best I'd ever had. Dissecting the meatballs, I found spices and large chunks of garlic throughout. The meatballs I make at home are based off the meatballs at Gino's.

That evening a year ago, they sat us upstairs in the "newer" section of the restaurant. (It was Gino's old apartment from years ago.) I had their lasagna which was very, very good. And very cheap - $9.95 for the the serving which was very generous. Cindy had the broccoli chicken alfredo that she liked very well, too.

I don't quite remember what Scott and Marcia had - something with a red sauce, if I remember right - but Dave and Pat got a Gino's pizza. I had always wondered about their pizza and I was glad they got it. Dave said it was just "outstanding" and "awesome". It looked great. I'll have to get it sometime and let you know how it was.

I've been going to Madison for a number of years and just outside the Beltline Highway on Verona Rd. is a place called Gino's Italian Deli (see map). I'd never stopped in and I decided to do that on my way out of town back to the Quad Cities.

Gino's Italian Deli is a small market with a deli meat counter where they'll make sandwiches. In the summertime, they put tables outside and people can sit and eat out there. But they also have a big freezer area where they have ready-to-eat meals. One of the things that caught my eye was the lasagna.

It came in two sizes of pans - a six serving size for $16.50 and a 12 serving size for $31.00. The instructions were to cook it at 350 degrees for an hour and 15 minutes. I didn't have anything planned for dinner that night, so I grabbed one of the six serving sizes. I thought that $16.50 was a little expensive, then I realized that we could eat on this for at least three meals.

I went up to the counter and asked the check out lady if this Gino's Italian Deli was the same people as Gino's downtown. She said, "It's the same family."

I asked, "Is this the same lasagna as they sell at Gino's downtown?"

She looked at me and said, rather coolly, "I said it's the same family."

Well, that didn't tell me anything other than there's some sort of relationship within the family with Gino's downtown and Gino's Italian Deli. And she was kind of bitchy about it. I sort of wondered about it after I bought it.

However, any fears I had went away after I cooked up the lasagna when I got home. I don't know if it was exactly like the lasagna at Gino's, but it was still pretty good. I'll definitely pick up another pan of lasagna from Gino's Italian Deli the next time I'm up in Madison.

But the original Gino's in downtown Madison is worth a visit. The old time charm, the good food, the comfortable ambiance - it all makes Gino's one of those great little restaurants that you'll want to visit again and again.

(Update - Gino Gargano decided to retire at the age of 73 and closed Gino's Restaurant in downtown Madison in 2013 after being in business for 50 years. The Deli on the southwest side of Madison remains open and they still offer Gino's famous lasagna to go.)

I've said in a couple of recent posts that I've been on the hunt for good wine deals lately, and that means stopping at some of the better wine stores in the Midwest. One of those happens to be Steve's Wine Market in Madison.

Actually, my stop at Steve's was two-fold - to look for wine, and to look for Leinenkugel beer to take to one of my dealers in Missouri. He's a big Green Bay Packers fan and he loves every thing to do with Wisconsin. And he certainly loves Leinie beer.

Steve's Wine Market is celebrating 50 years in the business this year. Steve Varese opened his store in what was the house that he and his wife lived in on University Ave. in Madison. He kept his main job working on the railroad while his wife ran the business 12 hours a day. After five years, Steve Varese quit the railroad full-time to work at the store.

In 1970, the Varese's opened up a second location in the town of Middleton on the west side of Madison. Because of the growth of population in the area, Steve's opened a new and larger location in Middleton in 1995 at its present day site.

In the mid-80's, his son, Joe Varese (left), returned to the business and now runs the day to day operations. What was Joe's boyhood home when he left was a fully converted liquor store when he came back. And in the early 90's, Joe built a bigger store on the property that houses the present day Steve's Wine Market.

Joe has two partners in the business - Randy Wautlet, who manages the store in Madison; and Kathy Eigenberger, who manages the store in Middleton. I like to go in and talk to Kathy and Jan at the Steve's in Middleton from time to time because they really do know their beers.

The beer selection is more extensive in Middleton than at the location in Madison. Kathy told me one time that even though both stores are under the same umbrella, the Middleton store has a tendency to be more of a "beer and liquor" store than a wine store, hence the "Steve's Liquor and More" name.

But both stores have an impressive wine selection. The wines at the Madison location are a little more eclectic and varied. I was told they have over 3000 different varieties of wines at the Madison store, with over 200 different types of burgundy wines.

The one thing about Steve's is they're not cheap. But they've got, by far, the best selection of wine in a town that has a number of good wine and liquor stores throughout the area. The sales help is knowledgeable and willing to help with the selection of wines. For that kind of service, I'm willing to pay a little extra to make sure I'm getting what I want.

In addition to the vast selection of wine, liquor and beer at the Steve's location in Madison, they also have a gourmet deli area that features cheeses from Wisconsin and Europe, eclectic meat selections, and high-end chocolates from Europe. It's quite new and it's something to see.

Steve's is one of those places that I can go into and just look around for an hour before I realize I've been in there that long. Like I say, I go to the store in Madison for wine and go to the store in Middleton for beer. Even though they're owned by the same people, they're two different identity's, that's for sure.

The Great Dane Pub and Brewing Company is the oldest brewpub in the Madison area. Started in 1996 by Eliot Butler and brewmaster Rob LoBreglio, the first Great Dane brew pub was opened in the former Fess Hotel and Restaurant property on Doty St. a block away from the Wisconsin State Capitol (see map).

The Great Dane Pub downtown is a typical brew pub - the tanks are lined up behind glass to show patrons the brewing process. It has a nice little beer garden in back that is surrounded by trees, and the food is typical brew pub fare - sandwiches, appetizers and a few entrees.

Their beers are very good for a brew pub. I especially like their Old Glory American Pale Ale, a very hoppy pale ale that is supported with an underlying malt flavor to smooth out the taste. It's one of the better pale ale's I've had at a brew pub.

They also make a German pilsner - the Verruckte Stadt German Pils - that uses German hops and pilsner malt to give it a very Germanic taste.

Their John Stoner's Oatmeal Stout is named after the original settler of the Madison suburb of Fitchburg, where the second Great Dane Pub and Brewery opened about four years ago. I'm not big on their oatmeal stout, but it does have a nice roasted taste to it.

Other beers include their Landmark Lite Lager, the Crop Circle Wheat and the Sugar River Extra Special Bitter. They also have a British cask ale that is drawn from authentic "Firken" casks.

They have a Scotch Ale at their Madison location that they, unfortunately, don't have at their Fitchburg pub. Actually, a couple of the beers they have in Madison, they don't have in Fitchburg (and vice-versa).

I recently took a dealer and some of his guys to the one in Fitchburg (see map). It was a great night, so we sat out in their expansive beer garden. There were many more people seated outside than inside (the one in Fitchburg is a lot bigger - both inside dining and beer garden - than the one downtown).

I ordered a pale ale, a couple of the guys ordered the wheat, one of the guys ordered the oatmeal stout and one of them ordered a bloody mary. I kind of looked at him funny and he said, "Oh, these are the best bloody mary's in Madison. It's a family tradition on Christmas Eve to meet my parents and brothers and sisters for lunch at the Great Dane downtown and we always have bloody mary's."

The waitress brought out his bloody mary after she'd gotten us our beers. It looked great - olives, pickle, lime and lemon wedge. I told the waitress, "I've got to try one of those."

She brought me one out a little later and it was very good. One of the best bloody mary's I've had a in long time. It was smooth, rich and really flavorful. The waitress said, "We make a pretty good bloody mary here. A lot of people don't know about it."

For dinner, I had the peppercorn mushroom sirloin steak with a side of garlic smashed potatoes and a vegetable medley. The guy who got the bloody mary originally, Paul, got the chicken pot pie. Once again, I sort of gave him a look when he ordered the chicken pot pie and he said, "It's the best chicken pot pie you'll ever have."

The other guys got the spaghetti and meatball special or burgers. My steak was a little overcooked, but the peppercorn sauce and mushrooms over the top of it were a great complement. And the garlic smashed potatoes were great with it, as well.

Paul was literally in ecstacy eating his chicken pot pie. It did look good. It was in a small pot with the dough just rising and spreading out over the top. He said, "You're going to have to get one of these the next time you eat here."

The guy who got the spaghetti said it was very good. The bolognese sauce had a little spicy bite to it and the meatballs were very good. In fact, he talked one lady who was seated at a table next to us to get it for dinner. She liked it, too.

Dinner for five with tip came to $140.00. Of course, our bar tab was about $60 bucks, so the price of the food was very reasonable.

The times I've eaten at the Great Dane Pub, the food has always been good. The beer is good, it's a good place to go when you're in Madison. I highly recommend it.

I've always wanted to try Smoky's Club in Madison, WI and I was there recently on business and I decided to give it a thorough check.

Smoky's isn't much to look at from the outside - it's a typical 1950's style supper club, built long before Madison began to expand to the west. Smoky's started out just down the street from their present location (which was once known as Justo's Club). Leonard (Smoky) Schmock (pronounced Shmoke) and his wife, Janet, wanted to have a little steakhouse that would cater to the parents of kids who went to school at the University of Wisconsin.

Over the years, Smoky's has garnered a number of awards and accolades including being named the "Best Steakhouse in the Midwest" by Midwest Living Magazine in 1988, and for being named for three or four years in a row in the early 90's as one of the top 10 steakhouses in the nation by some obscure publication called "Knife and Fork".

OK, so, they got some awards. But that was years ago. Is Smoky's still as good? I wanted to find out that night I was in Madison so I invited one of my local dealers to go out to dinner at Smoky's. We were going to meet at Smoky's around 8 p.m., so I got there a little before 8 to wait for him in the bar.

I went in and was met by a hostess, probably in her late 50's or early 60's. Actually, she just sort of looked at me for a moment, then went back to writing something down. She finally looked up and said, "May I help you?"

I told her that I needed a table for two, but it appeared that my guest wasn't there yet. She replied in a somewhat cold and snooty tenor, "Do you have a reservation?" I said I didn't. But looking around the place, there were many open tables and since it was a Tuesday night I didn't expect an after 8 p.m. rush on the place. I told her that I'd wait at the bar for my guest to show up. She didn't say anything as I walked toward the bar. I thought I was being nice, but my first impression was, "What a bitch!"

I sat at the bar and had a beer. I looked around the place and it is difficult to describe the restaurant. It's dark and cozy, but there's all this "kitsch" hanging from the walls and ceiling. I suppose there are interesting stories behind each and everything on display, but it seemed awfully "busy", visually.

After about 20 minutes, I got a call from my guest who apologized that he was going to have to beg off on dinner that evening. I told him that it was no problem, I was a big boy and I've had dinner many times by myself. I went up to the hostess and told her that there had been a change of plans and my guest was not going to show up. I wondered if I could get a steak at the bar.

She looked down her nose at me like I was a bum who just walked in off the street. She then said in a rather pretentious tone, "We do NOT serve dinner at the bar. This is not THAT type of place."

Looking back, I really wish I would have made some smart ass comment like, "Oh yeah? Well, what kind of place IS this? I've eaten at the bar in a lot nicer steakhouses than this place, lady!"

She wordlessly sat me at a table in the corner of the non-smoking dining room. My waitress came over and she was a little nicer than the hostess, but not very personable. Her "give-a-shit" factor was pretty low. Who knows? Maybe she was having trouble at home or something, but I just thought she was a little too cold and unemotional for a restaurant like Smoky's. It was obvious she didn't want to be working that particular evening.

I ordered the 10 oz filet, which at $34.00 bucks I thought it had better be good. With dinner you had your choice of potato, plus a salad along with either cup of Manhattan-style (tomato based) clam chowder or tomato juice. The clam chowder was pretty good. The salad was OK, the dressing (French) was homemade and kind of bland.

Smoky's cooks their steaks at 600 degrees (F) and serve them on a sizzling platter, ala Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. I opted for hash browns with cheese on top (I usually don't eat potatoes that much any longer so I went with the least amount of potato available). The steak was still sizzling on the platter for about three minutes after it was served to me.

And it was good, but cooked a little more than the medium rare that I asked for. I don't know if it was a $34 dollar steak, let alone a top ten steak in my book, but it was good. The hash browns weren't bad, but I really didn't think they were anything special. Then again, I'm not big on potatoes that much any longer. They have to be really special to knock my socks off any more. The bill for food, three beers and a so-so tip for the indifferent waitress was about $55.00.

As I got up to leave, I wandered into a room off the entrance that had a lot of reviews and awards on the wall. I don't know who this Knife and Fork magazine is, but they certainly did have Smoky's in their top ten in the early 90's along side some great steak houses such Smith and Wollensky, Chicago Chop House, Hereford House, Morton's and Shula's. I've eaten in each of those places and I can safely say that while Smoky's is good, it is NO WAY in the same class - food, service, ambiance - as those restaurants.

Smoky's may have been something back in the late 80's and early 90's when it was getting all those awards, but today it's nothing more than a good, big Midwestern city steakhouse. Not outstanding, but good. Above average good, I'll give them that. Even with the indifferent service and the unnecessarily cold reception from the hostess, I'll say it was good.

As I left the place, I glanced at the hostess giving her every opportunity to say, "Thank you, come again!" But she didn't say a word, looking past me as if I didn't exist.

There are many choices of restaurants in Madison. Although the food was good, I was turned off by the attitude of the hostess and the limp rag nature of my waitress. It will be quite some time before I go back to Smoky's.

I'm a little partial to the Avenue Bar in Madison. It's run by a long time friend of mine, Paul Zach, who grew up in Oregon, WI, just south of Madison. Paul and I met while we were going to school at the University of Iowa. He played baseball there until he was injured, then he moved back to Madison to finish school at the University of Wisconsin.

The Avenue Bar has a long history. Joe Keyes built the place in 1956 and it was nothing more than a bar with some pool tables and catered to the workers of the factory across Washington Ave from the bar. Joe ran it until 1967 when he sold it to Homer Middleton. Three years later, Middleton sold it to Skip Zach, Paul's dad, and his partner, Cam Hubanks, who began to serve dinner three nights a week.

They billed their dinner as "Madison's Original Fish Boil", which is a cooking technique used in the Door County area of Wisconsin. It was a hit and it's still on the menu today.

In the late 70's, Skip bought Cam Hubanks out and he and his wife, Clare, became the owners. Paul came to work for Skip and Clare in the mid-80's after he got out of school. They expanded the restaurant by putting in a new kitchen area and doubling the size of their dining area. Unfortunately, Skip passed away last year and Paul is now running the place.

I always eat at least one meal at The Avenue Bar when I go to Madison. The fish boil (which is actually steamed fish) is always good and plentiful. Paul said to me one time, "That fish boil is what made this place. There would still be pool tables in this place if my dad and Cam hadn't started the fish boil."

But the Avenue Bar also has good steaks on their menu, too. They do prime rib on Friday and Saturday nights (they have a prime rib breakfast special on Saturday and Sundays which is great, as well). And they have specials each day for lunch and for dinner. I'm particularly fond of their reuben sandwiches and their homemade barley beef soup.

Paul keeps a good selection of beers on tap and they're always cold. He always has one of the Capital Brewery beers on tap. The last time I was in he had the Maibock on tap. It was great with my reuben.

Over the years, Clare has collected a number of antique clocks, kitchen accessories and containers, and put them on display throughout the restaurant. They're pretty interesting to look at.

The Avenue Bar is an institution in Madison. It's the type of place where you could have a highly elected government official sitting at the bar and next to him would be a coach at Wisconsin, the town drunk would be sitting next to the coach, and a college student seated next to the drunk. It's such a diverse and loyal clientele that Paul has in the place. He's always busy every time I go in there, but things get very hectic in the place on Friday and Saturday nights.

Madison is such a great town with a lot of things to do. The Avenue Bar is just another reason to go to Madison.

(Update October 2011 - The Zach family had been contemplating selling the bar since Skip passed away and in April of 2011 they sold the Avenue Bar to the Food Fight Restaurant Group who owns a number of very good restaurants in the Madison area. Paul had offered to stay on and manage the place, but the new owners felt that would be a conflict of interest. I was in having lunch there the fall of 2011 and I was asking one of the ladies who had worked for the Zach's for a long time how things were going. She said that the new owners hadn't changed the menu or the way things are cooked. "Why fool around with success," she rhetorically asked me. I said that it was too bad that Paul wasn't around any longer and she said, "Boy, you're telling me. We miss him everyday. It was a tough, tough day the day he handed over the keys and walked out.")

We just got back from Madison spending the weekend up there with our friends Scott and Marcia Schroeder, Dave and Pat Heusmann, and Tom Kakert for the Iowa/Wisconsin football game. Madison is always a great time and a wonderful city.

Before we left, Dave's barber told him that we had to go to this place called the Brocach on the state capitol square in downtown Madison. He said it was a great bar. Well, any bar that serves a lot of eclectic beers is on my agenda!

The Brocach is on the south side of the square, directly across from the Wisconsin State Capitol building. Brocach, in Gaelic, loosely means a "Fox Den" or, more appropriately for Wisconsin, a "Badger's Den". The crowd was mixed for a Friday night with a lot more college aged kids in the place than middle aged people like us.

They have two bars in the Brocach - the main bar downstairs, and when it gets busy, they open up the upper bar. We opted to go upstairs and go to the smaller of the two bars. They had all the traditional beers on tap - Harp, Guinness, Bass. One thing I liked is that they had Smithwick's on tap, a nice Irish brew that I first had last year in Ann Arbor. Smithwick's (pronounced "Smitticks") has a good flavor to it and a nice little bite.

The girls all opted for "foo-foo" drinks while the guys bellied up and went for the beer. They had New Glarus Brewing Company's Spotted Cow on tap and Dave went with one of those. Just like me, Dave didn't care for it. In fact, I know that New Glarus is reknown for their beers, but I have never cared for the taste of most Belgian style beers. It was all he could do to choke it down.

They have food at Brocach, it appears to be a little more upscale than regular bar type food. And they have a nice selection of Scotch's, as well. The crowd is a little older through the day and early in the evening, and on the weekends it tends to skew more toward a younger crowd. But if you're in Madison and have some time on your hands and want to get a beer downtown, I'd say this is the place.

When I first heard of the Blue Moon, I immediately thought it would be a gay bar. Not so. In fact, they make one of the better burgers in the Midwest. I've known about the Blue Moon for quite some time, but just never sought it out. I was in Madison recently and didn't know what I wanted for dinner, so I decided to hit the Blue Moon.

Located on University Ave. near the UW-Madison campus, the Blue Moon is classic neo-art-deco in it's interior design. It has a main floor and an upper loft that is open to the main floor. There's a nice bar up front and the grille for the burgers is situated just to the left of the bar. There seemed to be a younger, college age crowd in there - even for a Tuesday night. I did, however, see a family with small kids in the place, too.

I had "The Best Burger in Town" selection and had them throw some pepper jack cheese on it. The burger was good, good toasted bun, great flavor. I don't know if it was the best in town, but I know it would give the new Dotty's a run for their money. The Blue Moon doesn't offer the condiments or "fixin's" that Dotty's does, but it's still a very good burger.

And their beer selection at the bar was very good, as well. I had a Capital Oktoberfest to go along with the burger and everything was all right in the world.

There's parking in a lot just to the west of the Blue Moon or on the street. They don't take credit card so bring cash. A burger and a couple beers came to about $12.50 with tip.

Who's better - Dotty's or Blue Moon? Once again, I'd have to have them side by side but I think Dotty's is a tad better.

A small independent regional brewery in Middleton, WI, the Capital Brewery produces some of the finest beer in the German tradition made today. Kirby Nelson is the head brewmaster and he brews some of the best beers in America.

I first came across Capital beers in the late 80's on a trip to Madison. I was so taken back by the taste quality of the Capital Bavarian Lager that I had to take some back home to Iowa with me. That beer didn't last long and I was tempted to drive back to Wisconsin from Central Iowa just to get some.

After I moved to Davenport, I was on a quest to try and find Capital Beers. I would drive to East Dubuque to Van's Liquor Store just to pick up beer. And their selection was spotty, at best.

Gendler's, which used to have a store in Rock Island before moving to Moline, used to be able to get Capital beer in for me, but then the distributor quit carrying it as I was about the only customer for Capital beers they had in the Quad Cities.

Along about 6 years ago, Capital became available in Iowa. It was like heaven had opened the door. But now that I travel regularly to Wisconsin for business, I have a garage full of different types of Capital Beers.

My favorite of all the Capital beers is the Special Pilsner - it may be my most favorite beer of ANY beer. It's full-bodied, it has a smooth taste, a nice little bite to it and it tastes great with red meat. I love the stuff. It tastes great with steak or pork chops and is wonderful if you have some spicy foods, as well. I don't know if there is any other beer out there comparable.

Another good one they make is the Capital 1900. In 2000, small breweries across the state of Wisconsin had a contest to make the best beer possible based upon a 1900 recipe that eventually became the basis for the Old Style beer recipe. Capital won the contest, hands down, and they decided to make the beer available to the public. I'm glad they did.

Capital also has four seasonal beers, the Maibock, Fest, Oktoberfest and Winter Skal. I really like the Winter Skal, it's kind of a hoppy amber beer that has a smooth taste to it.

They also have four limited release beers, including three doppelbocks. And they just introduced a new wheat beer - Island Wheat - but I'm not too keen on wheat beers.

A trip to the Capital Brewery in Middleton is a good time, especially on the weekends in the summer. They have a large beer garden and usually have entertainment through the early evenings on Friday and Saturday nights. And in the winter time, they have a cozy indoor "bier stube" that's open on evenings until 9 p.m. from Wednesday thru Friday, and on Saturday afternoon. They also have a nice gift shop there, too, that sells clothing, Capital beers, drinkware and other neat items.

There are a lot of regional independents out there, but not many finer than the Capital Brewery.

Before Dotty's moved from it's old Regent Street building to the new one on Frances Street near the UW-Madison campus, I had to say that Dotty's was one of my top three favorite burgers.

The restaurant was a funky hodge podge of kitsch on the walls and ceiling, including some pretty nifty historical stuff they had on display. You would walk up to a counter, order your burger and beer, go sit down and they'd yell your name out. If it was busy and the place was packed, sometimes it would be so loud in there that you couldn't hear your name.

Urban renewel caught up with Dotty's - they wanted to tear down all the buildings and put up an art museum. Dotty's was the last hold out and I used to have a picture somewhere of Dotty's building surrounded by this big dug out pit for the art museum. Unfortunately, city hall prevailed. Dotty's was no more.

Well, until a couple years ago. They moved to their new location on Frances Street, just north of the Kohl Center. It's now more of a sophisticated, sit down place than the free-for-all the old Dotty's used to be. It's not as fun as the old place was but the burgers are still good. Not as good as the old place, for some reason.

They don't have their jambalaya any longer - a cup of which was staple with any Dotty's burger. But they do have their extensive list of condiments that you can add to your burger (some are free, others are 75 cents a burger extra). And their beer selection is still top notch - some of the best beers in any bar, any where.